Disclaimer: own nothing. This is a Shadow and Fallen Angel joint effort so
blame both of us!!
RECRUITMENT
"Home sweet home" Stephanie announced as she emerged from the limo
"Funny, I though you McMahons would find somewhere more classy than an arena to call home" a sardonic voice announced clearly from behind her
Steph spun on her expensive Italian leather heel to verbally toast the speaker when she saw who it was. She was expecting Jericho or Hunter. Instead, Undertaker stood leaning against the arena's back door; spitting tobacco juice into a small glass tumbler in his hand. Stephanie curled her glossy lips into a disgusted expression. He couldn't find somewhere, like the privacy of his own dressing room, to do that in? It was vulgar and utterly gross. Knowing he'd want her to react in some prissy way, Stephanie mentally pulled herself together and straightened her back.
"It's a figure of speech" she ground out through gritted teeth as he spat again
"Evening Taker" Shane called
He'd emerged from the other side of the limo shortly after Stephanie and had watched her mental and facial gymnastics. It always amused him how he could tell exactly what his sister was thinking simply by taking in her body language. Call it a brother's gift. He briskly walked up to the mammoth frame of one of their top superstars, willing himself not to show he was intimidated. He knew from experience that Taker respected people who respected him and stood up for themselves. He hoped he was showing both in equal measure as he stood in front of Taker with his briefcase
"How'd the meeting go?" asked Taker, spitting a particularly large gob of juice into the glass
Shane tried hard not to laugh as Stephanie turned away slightly, her disgust etched vividly on her face. Hurriedly he turned his eyes back to Taker before the big man noticed as well.
"Well, Austin put out some demands" he began
"Which were totally unfair and putting everything in his favour" Stephanie interrupted furiously "we have to pay for his truck repairs and for Kurt's medical bills! Since when did Austin care about Kurt's health? Since he could get money out of us!"
Shane sighed and turned to his sister
"Remember what I was saying on the ride over? 50/50, remember that" he said warningly before turning back again to Taker who was patiently taking in the conversation "and we've had to name him General Manager and he's allowed to name the other show's General Manager but luckily since we're the owners, we can map out his responsibilities, power and control"
"Which will amount to zilch" Stephanie added proudly
"Good to see someone's been using their brains" Taker smirked "the reason I came out to greet you is to make sure you get around safely, Hunter and his little gang aren't gonna be shy about approaching you, especially since they think they got the upper hand here"
"So you thought you'd be our bodyguard?" sneered Stephanie "thanks but no thanks"
Undertaker looked at her long and hard, she stared defiantly back. He walked slowly up to her, held his glass out in front of him so that it was almost touching her expensive silk blouse and spat in it suddenly. Stephanie jerked visibly, almost jumping backwards before glaring at him in disgust.
"I called in the UnAmericans" Taker said to Shane who was trying his hardest (and not very well) to hide his delighted laughter
As if on cue, Lance, Test and Christian walked out of the backdoor. They were all dressed in comfortably pants and black tees with the upside down American flag on. They all looked determined
"Ready to escort you inside" announced Lance cordially
"Thank you Lance" said Stephanie as she breezed past him "nice to know someone around here has some class"
Taker rolled his eyes at Shane who shrugged back. He was used to his sister's unsubtle barbs by now. It was part of life. He'd have to talk to her about scaring superstars and making unwanted enemies out of people who weren't as unshockable as Undertaker. Stephanie inspected her nails in a bored manner. She mentally congratulated herself on managing to book her manicurist on such short notice. Cecile had done her usual perfect job in reflecting Stephanie's mood; the nails were deep red. They matched the silk blouse that was unbuttoned enough to be sexy which she wore with a short black skirt and black strappy shoes. Finally she got impatient
"Are you going to stand all day or get inside Shane?" she snapped
Shane made an elaborate gesture with his hands, briefcase and all
"After you dear sister"
With a withering glare, Stephanie walked inside flanked by Test and Christian. Shane followed with Lance beside him and Taker bringing up the rear.
"Who'd you kill to dye the shirt anyway?" Shane quipped as they reached the office unscathed
"Shut up"
"Touché" Shane replied with a small grin, watching as Taker shut and locked the door behind him.
Stephanie sat down behind the desk and spun around in the chair so she was facing the corkboard fastened to the wall. She focused her attention on the list of their superstars and narrowed her eyes. "Shane, I don't think I'm satisfied with our roster yet."
"What are you talking about?" He asked incredulously, sprawling out on the chaise lounge underneath the window. "Our roster kicks ass."
Taker watched silently from his place leaning against the door and the Un- Americans looked curiously at each other while smartly choosing to remain quiet.
Stephanie shook her head and pointed to the paper. "No, look at this. We only have eleven people—how the hell is that supposed to impress anybody. You know who I want?" She asked, spinning back around so she was facing her brother, who looked back at her cluelessly. "Who's that new girl around here? The one who keeps terrorizing Stratus?"
"Victoria." Christian piped up. "She just got pulled up from OVW."
"Yeah her." Stephanie replied. "I want her on our team. I want that ingrate Booker T too. We made him who he is and now he's gone all good on us."
Shane shook his head. "Booker isn't going to come over to us. He plays the face part too well; he likes being cheered instead of getting heat."
"I don't care." Stephanie answered dismissively.
"He won't come over." Taker spoke up, reinforcing Shane's position. "He's too caught up in himself now, he won't care."
"Fine. Whatever. Shane, if you don't think it's a good idea then we won't." Taker opened his mouth to say something but Shane shot him a look advising him against it. "I want Kurt's two clones too. Haas and Benjamin I think it is." She continued. "They've been impressing me lately."
"Anybody else?" Shane asked as he scribbled her list of demands on a piece of notebook paper quickly.
She shrugged and looked down at her lap-top, pulling up the official WWE homepage. "I want them too!" She announced, pointing her finger to the screen at the tag-team.
Shane came over and stood over her shoulder, curious to see who her last choice was. "Bubba and D-von?" He asked skeptically.
"Good choice." Taker commented and Stephanie beamed.
"Thank you. We need a really strong tag-team." She explained, and then turned towards the Un-Americans. "Do you guys think you could go and find those five people and tell them we'd like a word with them?"
"Not a problem." Test answered as the three got up and left the room.
"You really think this is a good idea?" Stephanie asked her brother. She looked up at Taker who was still standing there. "Don't you have a match to get ready for?" She asked him.
His face hardened and stepped out of the room, slamming the door behind him hard.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Shane exploded.
Stephanie looked up at him, absent-mindedly filing her nails. "We need time to plan. Shane, it's not like he has a say in what we do. He works for us. This is not a partnership no matter what you or he thinks."
Shane opened his mouth but said nothing for a few moments. "You really want to know why our invasion didn't work the first time?" He asked. She began to respond but he cut her off. "Can you please just shut up and not talk for like five minutes."
"You have no right to talk to me—"
"I'm your brother, of course I do." He interrupted her.
Stephanie pushed her chair back and stood up, placing both hands firmly on the desk. "No. You don't." She replied vehemently. "Now you listen to me. I did not have to ask you to help me with this. I could've done this blindfolded with both hands behind my back. I thought you would be interested in helping me out here, but obviously I was wrong."
"It failed last time because you couldn't stop being such a bitch." Shane continued as if he didn't even hear her. "You were always intimidating and unapproachable and you were not a person our workers could relate too. You were too bossy, much like you're being now. You could never accept the idea that you were wrong most of the times and, surprise surprise, you still think the damn world revolves around you."
"You're a very brave man for saying that to me, you realize that don't you"
Shane rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to just yell in frustration. "You will never change." He accused before storming out of the room, almost knocking into Victoria, Haas, and Benjamin who were outside of the door and too afraid to go in.
RECRUITMENT
"Home sweet home" Stephanie announced as she emerged from the limo
"Funny, I though you McMahons would find somewhere more classy than an arena to call home" a sardonic voice announced clearly from behind her
Steph spun on her expensive Italian leather heel to verbally toast the speaker when she saw who it was. She was expecting Jericho or Hunter. Instead, Undertaker stood leaning against the arena's back door; spitting tobacco juice into a small glass tumbler in his hand. Stephanie curled her glossy lips into a disgusted expression. He couldn't find somewhere, like the privacy of his own dressing room, to do that in? It was vulgar and utterly gross. Knowing he'd want her to react in some prissy way, Stephanie mentally pulled herself together and straightened her back.
"It's a figure of speech" she ground out through gritted teeth as he spat again
"Evening Taker" Shane called
He'd emerged from the other side of the limo shortly after Stephanie and had watched her mental and facial gymnastics. It always amused him how he could tell exactly what his sister was thinking simply by taking in her body language. Call it a brother's gift. He briskly walked up to the mammoth frame of one of their top superstars, willing himself not to show he was intimidated. He knew from experience that Taker respected people who respected him and stood up for themselves. He hoped he was showing both in equal measure as he stood in front of Taker with his briefcase
"How'd the meeting go?" asked Taker, spitting a particularly large gob of juice into the glass
Shane tried hard not to laugh as Stephanie turned away slightly, her disgust etched vividly on her face. Hurriedly he turned his eyes back to Taker before the big man noticed as well.
"Well, Austin put out some demands" he began
"Which were totally unfair and putting everything in his favour" Stephanie interrupted furiously "we have to pay for his truck repairs and for Kurt's medical bills! Since when did Austin care about Kurt's health? Since he could get money out of us!"
Shane sighed and turned to his sister
"Remember what I was saying on the ride over? 50/50, remember that" he said warningly before turning back again to Taker who was patiently taking in the conversation "and we've had to name him General Manager and he's allowed to name the other show's General Manager but luckily since we're the owners, we can map out his responsibilities, power and control"
"Which will amount to zilch" Stephanie added proudly
"Good to see someone's been using their brains" Taker smirked "the reason I came out to greet you is to make sure you get around safely, Hunter and his little gang aren't gonna be shy about approaching you, especially since they think they got the upper hand here"
"So you thought you'd be our bodyguard?" sneered Stephanie "thanks but no thanks"
Undertaker looked at her long and hard, she stared defiantly back. He walked slowly up to her, held his glass out in front of him so that it was almost touching her expensive silk blouse and spat in it suddenly. Stephanie jerked visibly, almost jumping backwards before glaring at him in disgust.
"I called in the UnAmericans" Taker said to Shane who was trying his hardest (and not very well) to hide his delighted laughter
As if on cue, Lance, Test and Christian walked out of the backdoor. They were all dressed in comfortably pants and black tees with the upside down American flag on. They all looked determined
"Ready to escort you inside" announced Lance cordially
"Thank you Lance" said Stephanie as she breezed past him "nice to know someone around here has some class"
Taker rolled his eyes at Shane who shrugged back. He was used to his sister's unsubtle barbs by now. It was part of life. He'd have to talk to her about scaring superstars and making unwanted enemies out of people who weren't as unshockable as Undertaker. Stephanie inspected her nails in a bored manner. She mentally congratulated herself on managing to book her manicurist on such short notice. Cecile had done her usual perfect job in reflecting Stephanie's mood; the nails were deep red. They matched the silk blouse that was unbuttoned enough to be sexy which she wore with a short black skirt and black strappy shoes. Finally she got impatient
"Are you going to stand all day or get inside Shane?" she snapped
Shane made an elaborate gesture with his hands, briefcase and all
"After you dear sister"
With a withering glare, Stephanie walked inside flanked by Test and Christian. Shane followed with Lance beside him and Taker bringing up the rear.
"Who'd you kill to dye the shirt anyway?" Shane quipped as they reached the office unscathed
"Shut up"
"Touché" Shane replied with a small grin, watching as Taker shut and locked the door behind him.
Stephanie sat down behind the desk and spun around in the chair so she was facing the corkboard fastened to the wall. She focused her attention on the list of their superstars and narrowed her eyes. "Shane, I don't think I'm satisfied with our roster yet."
"What are you talking about?" He asked incredulously, sprawling out on the chaise lounge underneath the window. "Our roster kicks ass."
Taker watched silently from his place leaning against the door and the Un- Americans looked curiously at each other while smartly choosing to remain quiet.
Stephanie shook her head and pointed to the paper. "No, look at this. We only have eleven people—how the hell is that supposed to impress anybody. You know who I want?" She asked, spinning back around so she was facing her brother, who looked back at her cluelessly. "Who's that new girl around here? The one who keeps terrorizing Stratus?"
"Victoria." Christian piped up. "She just got pulled up from OVW."
"Yeah her." Stephanie replied. "I want her on our team. I want that ingrate Booker T too. We made him who he is and now he's gone all good on us."
Shane shook his head. "Booker isn't going to come over to us. He plays the face part too well; he likes being cheered instead of getting heat."
"I don't care." Stephanie answered dismissively.
"He won't come over." Taker spoke up, reinforcing Shane's position. "He's too caught up in himself now, he won't care."
"Fine. Whatever. Shane, if you don't think it's a good idea then we won't." Taker opened his mouth to say something but Shane shot him a look advising him against it. "I want Kurt's two clones too. Haas and Benjamin I think it is." She continued. "They've been impressing me lately."
"Anybody else?" Shane asked as he scribbled her list of demands on a piece of notebook paper quickly.
She shrugged and looked down at her lap-top, pulling up the official WWE homepage. "I want them too!" She announced, pointing her finger to the screen at the tag-team.
Shane came over and stood over her shoulder, curious to see who her last choice was. "Bubba and D-von?" He asked skeptically.
"Good choice." Taker commented and Stephanie beamed.
"Thank you. We need a really strong tag-team." She explained, and then turned towards the Un-Americans. "Do you guys think you could go and find those five people and tell them we'd like a word with them?"
"Not a problem." Test answered as the three got up and left the room.
"You really think this is a good idea?" Stephanie asked her brother. She looked up at Taker who was still standing there. "Don't you have a match to get ready for?" She asked him.
His face hardened and stepped out of the room, slamming the door behind him hard.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Shane exploded.
Stephanie looked up at him, absent-mindedly filing her nails. "We need time to plan. Shane, it's not like he has a say in what we do. He works for us. This is not a partnership no matter what you or he thinks."
Shane opened his mouth but said nothing for a few moments. "You really want to know why our invasion didn't work the first time?" He asked. She began to respond but he cut her off. "Can you please just shut up and not talk for like five minutes."
"You have no right to talk to me—"
"I'm your brother, of course I do." He interrupted her.
Stephanie pushed her chair back and stood up, placing both hands firmly on the desk. "No. You don't." She replied vehemently. "Now you listen to me. I did not have to ask you to help me with this. I could've done this blindfolded with both hands behind my back. I thought you would be interested in helping me out here, but obviously I was wrong."
"It failed last time because you couldn't stop being such a bitch." Shane continued as if he didn't even hear her. "You were always intimidating and unapproachable and you were not a person our workers could relate too. You were too bossy, much like you're being now. You could never accept the idea that you were wrong most of the times and, surprise surprise, you still think the damn world revolves around you."
"You're a very brave man for saying that to me, you realize that don't you"
Shane rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to just yell in frustration. "You will never change." He accused before storming out of the room, almost knocking into Victoria, Haas, and Benjamin who were outside of the door and too afraid to go in.