The Counter-Invasion
By: Jay Winger

Timeline Note: This chapter picks up immediately after the last one.

Teaser: As The Storm and Scion try to wage a war against the Alliance, Billy Rose lays his plans to make a return.

Rating: R - for violence and profanity

Disclaimer: All things WWF and WCW are property of WWFE, Inc. All things ECW are property of whomever the frell owns ECW. All things CIW are property of me. The characters of "The Storm" Matthew Skinner, Claire "Rain" Whittaker, Roger "Zed" Ziger, Mike "Zeta" Zahn, Billy Rose, Brad "Brick" Dickerson, the band Cold Steel, et al. are also my property. Please ask before you use them. Viper, Rattler, Soul, Cobra, Python, and all other creations of Boulder are his property and are used with his permission.

Previously: The events in the WWF between Summerslam and Invasion are recapped, and "The Storm" Matthew Skinner steps up and challenges the W/ECW Alliance, fighting Kanyon, and getting rescued from a mugging by former CIWer Scion.

Chapter 2: An Act of God

Smackdown: December 26

As Coach was finishing up his interview with The Storm and Scion, another match was starting up at the ring, for gold. Bombs whistled on the TitanTron. "Yeah, we're comin' down now!" Pyros exploded at the top of the ramp as hardcore music played over a flashing image that read WELCOME TO DUDLEYVILLE. The Dudley Boyz stepped out onto the stage, accompanied by Stacy Keibler, who wore a Dudley-camouflage skirt and a tight Dudleyville postcard T-Shirt. "The following contest is scheduled for one fall, and is for the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship! Introducing first, from the Alliance, being accompanied by Stacy Keibler, at a combined weight of 515 pounds... D-Von, Bubba Ray... THE DUDLEY BOYZ!"

Bubba and D-Von hit the ring, climbing up on the ropes to raise their hands in the '3-D' sign and generally pump themselves up. Stacy stood in the middle of the ring and nodded, smirking and giving the '3-D' sign as well. The Dudleys stepped off the ropes and removed their Dudley glasses, then crouched in wait, staring up the ramp.

Blur's "Song 2" started up, the drums and guitar playing while spotlights swept over the audience. The fans started cheering, then screamed along with the opening lyric: "Whoo-hoo!" The TitanTron lit up with the legend ZED & ZETA as the Tag Team Champions themselves stepped out. Zed, big and sturdy, muscled like the ex-bare-knuckle boxer he was, wore his usual dark-green sleeveless shirt and black-and-green pants. His wrists and knuckles were taped up, and he carried his title belt in one hand. His dirty-blond hair was cropped short. Zeta, on the other hand, was much shorter than his partner, kept his dark brown hair long, and had two streaks of blue which started at his temples and went all the way through. He wore short tights under cut-off jean shorts, and a Z-Men T-Shirt which said What's the word? - Snoogans! He wagged his tongue out and flashed a metalhead sign as he headed down the ramp. "And their opponents, from Baltimore, Maryland, weighing in at a combined weight of 460 pounds... they are the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions... ZED & ZETA!"

As soon as they slid into the ring, the Z-Men were besieged by the Dudleys, who started pounding them in the back and head as they pulled them to their feet. Bubba Ray managed to corner Zed and worked over his ribs with stiff punches, then a punch across the face. The big Z-Man rocked from the blow, then savagely punched Bubba right back, looking angry. He punched again, and Bubba went down. Zed started pounding him in the back. "Stupid idiot! Try hittin' a former boxer in the face? What were you smoking, Bubba?" He pulled him to his feet and started to bounce his head off the turnbuckle, but the white Dudley held the ropes with his hands to block, then bounced Zed's head off the corner. He did it a second time, then stomped him down to the mat.

By this point, D-Von had been working over Zeta as well. He called over his half-brother, and together they whipped Zeta into the ropes. They ducked their heads as one, but Zeta turned in mid-rebound and rolled down Bubba's back, then went off the other ropes. When he returned, however, the Dudleys caught his legs and hoisted him high in the air before bringing him down to the mat with a ferocious crash in a high flapjack.

Zed and D-Von cleared out of the ring as Bubba continued to pound on the Z-Man with the blue-streaked-hair, stomping him down to the mat. He taunted Zed, who took a swing at him, then turned back to Zeta. He stomped him in the head, then dropped an elbow on Zeta's sternum. He stood back up and delivered a second, then stood back up, linked his hands together, "Eat this!" and bashed Zeta with a falling double axe-handle. He covered, and Zeta kicked out at two. Bubba Ray continued to stomp and generally punish the smaller man, then whipped him into the corner and flattened him with a clothesline.

Bubba dumped Zeta on the mat, ran over to the champions' corner and walloped Zed. The ex-boxer immediately tried to step in the ring, but the referee cut him off, allowing Bubba to spread Zeta's legs. D-Von leapt from the top rope in the Wassap Headbutt, sans "Wassap." Bubba slapped his hands to simulate the tag and left the ring, as D-Von made the sign of the cross to the groaning and doubled over Zeta. He pulled him up, pressed him against the ropes and worked him over with stiff right hands. Finally, he whipped him across the ring and started to set up for his spinning back elbow, but as Zeta came back, he planted his feet and leapt off the mat, twisting his body in midair in the Zetasault, colliding hard with D-Von and knocking them both down.

Zed stood on the ropes and shouted at his partner, clapping his hands and then pounding on the corner, reaching out with his other hand. The audience took up the clap as well, as Zeta crawled slowly for the corner. D-Von tagged in Bubba, but before Zeta could slap Zed's hand, Stacy Keibler jumped on the ring apron, prompting the referee to turn and lecture her, making him miss the tag that Zeta made. As a result, when Zed stepped in the ring, the ref quickly dashed over to cut him off, allowing Bubba to drag Zeta over to the Dudleys' corner and brutalize him with a double team. Zed argued with referee Tim White while this transpired.

Stacy looked smug on the ring apron, but she didn't see the female form jump out of the crowd behind her. She was slim and buxom, with brunette hair, baggy orange pants, and a form-fitting off-white sleeveless top. The newcomer grabbed Stacy's feet and yanked them backward. The WCW diva fell and hit her face on the ring apron. As she held her face in pain, the new woman quickly nailed her in the face with a roundhouse kick. This distracted Bubba, who stared, allowing Zeta to lunge to his corner and tag in Zed.

The fans popped as the burly Z-Man rushed into the ring and took Bubba down with a clothesline, then another, then gave one to D-Von, and another. He whipped Bubba into the ropes, caught him and swung around to deliver a spinebuster. D-Von got back up, but Zed floored him with a Jawbuster, allowing Zeta, who yelled, "Snoogans!" to sail off the top-rope in a senton bomb. He collided with D-Von and kicked him out of the ring. Bubba staggered to his feet as Zed crouched in wait behind him. Zeta leaned back against the ropes, bouncing a bit.

Bubba turned to Zed, who grabbed his legs and lifted him upward. Zeta yelled "Z-D!" then pounced off the ropes, jumped and caught Bubba Ray by the neck in a clothesline neckbreaker, just as Zed swung him down in a spinebuster agian. The fans gave a loud Ohhh! as Bubba hit the mat with a crash. Zeta slid out of the ring as Zed hooked a leg for the 1... 2... 3!

The fans cheered as Zed and Zeta headed up the ramp to join the brunette, who whooped and cheered, holding their title belts. "Here are your winners, and still the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions... ZED & ZETA!" The Z-Men lifted her in the air and cheered as well, while she raised the belts in the air. Zed turned back to the Dudleys and mocked their 3-D sign, then turned away again.

* * *

Matthew Skinner grinned as the Z-Men returned to their commandeered restroom after the match, the brunette in tow. "Hey, it's she, it's she, it's Missy Dee!" The Storm quipped and slapped a palm with her. "How you been, Dee?"

Dee Meaner grinned. "Been doin' pretty good, Matty. Good to be here in the WWF."

"Nice work on the Dudleys there," Skinner added. "I see you debuted the 'Z-D' too."

"Hey, why not?" Zeta remarked. "It's the mark of a good tag-team, having a tandem manuever. The Duds have the 3-D, the Hardys have the Twist of Fate, Swanton, and Poetry in Motion. Edge and Christian, in better days, had the Conchairto. Well the Men of the Z just got the Z-D!"

The Storm nodded, then looked back at Scion. "You ready, man?" The hooded man looked up from the corner and nodded. "All right, then, let's go."

* * *

The Storm headed out to the ring to the music of Cold Steel, pacing in the ring with his ugly-stick in hand. "The following tag-team contest is scheduled for one fall. Introducing first, from Dallas, Texas, weighing in at 240 pounds... 'The Storm' MATTHEW SKINNER!"

He looked toward the TitanTron as the lights went down, except on the ramp, as a distant church bell tolled, accompanied by a haunting dirge-like melody, not unlike the entrance music the Undertaker used way back at the beginning of his career in the WWF. The robed form of Scion slowly walked down the ramp, face hidden in shadow from his hood, save his jaw, which was set gravely. His hands were folded in front of him as he strode up the stairs and onto the apron. A spotlight followed him as he stepped into the ring, sinking to one knee, where he made the sign of the cross in the air before him. "And his tag-team partner, from parts unknown, weighing in at 255 pounds... SCION!"

Scion pulled back his hood and then shrugged out of his robes, which he threw in the corner. He knelt again facing the corner, holding his silver cross in his hands. He murmurred some prayer, then removed the cross and passed it out to the timekeeper. Then the Act of God stood and brushed his golden hair out of his face and turned to the ramp with Skinner.

Both men were quite startled when the next music that played was the Union Underground. "How long? How long? -- I said how long? I said how long? I said how long? Until you crack, man..." The fans reacted quickly once they got over their own surprise, and started jeering. Billy Rose smirked as he walked down the ramp, wearing his Mental Elite T-Shirt. He headed around the ring, as Skinner paced him inside, glaring at him. "What the fuck you doin' out here, you bastard?" Scion, for his part, was frowning as he watched Rose head over to the announce position. Rose just smirked at Skinner and seated himself next to Tazz.

"And we're being joined here by Billy Rose," Michael Cole said into his headset. "What brings you down here, Billy?"

"Yeah, Billy," Tazz sniped. "Ain't Skinner kicked your ass enough times already?"

"Believe it or not, Tazz -- and I know you won't believe it, since you never believe a word anybody from the WWF says," Rose said as he put the third headset on, "-- I am not out here to take a shot at Skinner. He and I settled our business months ago. We still hate each other's guts, sure, but I ain't about to start another feud with him."

"So what does bring you out here?" Cole inquired.

"Well, obviously, Michael Cole, someone has to supply the info about Scion," Rose replied. "Who else but someone from CIW is gonna supply it?"

"Me," Tazz said. "You could just give me a piece of paper and I could read stuff off of it."

"Sorry, Tazz," Rose smirked. "I'd need someone who actually graduated from high school."

Before Tazz could reply to that crack, intense, hardcore music played as the words PALUMBO - O'HAIRE flashed on the screen. Together, the two WCW wrestlers came out on the ramp, thumping forearms and yelling at each other to pump themselves up. "And their opponents, from the Alliance, at a combined weight of 545 pounds... they are the WCW Tag Team Champions... SEAN O'HAIRE and CHUCK PALUMBO!"

Chuck Palumbo rushed down and into the ring with Sean O'Haire beside him. The Storm took Palumbo and started clubbing him in the back as he got up, as Scion grappled with O'Haire. Scion drove the wind from his opponent with a kneelift, then snap suplexed him hard to the mat. Palumbo, meanwhile, used his larger size to muscle Skinner back into the corner and was pummeling on him. Scion left the ring to go after O'Haire as The Storm ducked a swing from Palumbo and abruptly reversed their positions. The Force of Nature started chopping the 'Main Event's' chest, then kicking, then stomping away on it.

While this was going on, Tazz asked, "Okay, then, smart guy, so tell us about this Scion character. Where's he from?"

"No one knows where he's from," Rose replied. "He just turned up one day at the CIW Arena. The guy had so much raw talent we couldn't turn him away."

Outside, O'Haire reversed a whip by Scion and drove the gold-haired warrior into the steel post, then slid into the ring to blindside Skinner with a shot to the back of the head. Tazz laughed. "Yeah, some talent!"

Palumbo climbed out of the ring and stood on the apron as O'Haire pounded and threw Skinner around the ring. He whipped him back into the hostile corner and tagged in his partner, who whipped him into the ropes for a clothesline. The Storm rolled to his feet, wincing at the soreness from the blows he'd taken, and started to rally back, pummling the long-haired wrestler, then slipping behind him for a German suplex. He then rolled into a cover, but got a near-fall.

"Seriously," Rose said, "Scion's got the... I believe the term they'd use in the Hook is 'mad skizills,'" Tazz scowled at the jab, "and he's a private kinda guy, so we never pried into his personal life."

The Storm grabbed one of Palumbo's legs and started to twist it and turn him over for the Twister Anklelock, but O'Haire rushed the ring and hit a nasty back suplex on him. O'Haire half-stepped out of the ring as Palumbo made the obligatory tag. The intense WCW Tag Team Champion started stomping and pounding on Skinner again, suplexing him now and again, and generally keeping him isolated from Scion, who watched with his usual grave expression from the corner.

O'Haire finally scoop slammed The Storm near the neutral corner, then climbed up to the top rope. He whooped and raised his arms in the air, then sailed off in a Seanton Bomb. In mid-air, however, Skinner rolled away, causing the bigger man to hit the mat with a crash. Scion leaned forward, reaching for the tag, even as Palumbo did the same in his corner. Both men crawled to their partners and made the tags virtually simultaneously.

The fans cheered as Scion took the long-haired champion down with a stiff clothesline, then a second. O'Haire got back up and rushed the religious man, but Scion sidestepped and planted his knee in his gut. Tazz and Rose and Cole were arguing at the commentator's table about who was going to pull out victorious. The Act of God was still keeping the WCW Tag Team Champions on the mat, until O'Haire grabbed one of Scion's legs, allowing Palumbo enough time to hit the Jungle Kick to knock him down.

As the 'Main Event' celebrated, he turned toward the hostile corner. All at once, The Storm was airborne, catapulting himself at Palumbo in the Windfall, flattening him to the mat. O'Haire got up and advanced on him, but Scion was back on his feet, dazed, but not defeated. He grabbed O'Haire and turned him back to face him, then suddenly grabbed him and lifted him in the air in a Sky Hi variant, powerbombing him to the mat.

"And there it is!" Rose shouted. "The Fall from Grace!"

Scion wasn't finished, apparently, as he headed to the corner and climbed to the top. The Storm dragged O'Haire out of the ring as Palumbo was still down from the Windfall. Scion stood on the top rope, feet together, then raised his arms up in a crucifix position. Then he swung his hands down and leapt off in his own senton bomb -- "Jeezus Wept!" Rose howled at the announce position -- and slammed into Palumbo with terrific force. He hooked the leg and covered. 1... 2... 3!

The haunting dirge played again as Scion rose to his feet, folding his hands in front of him and bowing his head. He then made the sign of the cross over the semi-conscious Chuck Palumbo, and collected his cross and robes. The Storm joined him as they headed up the ramp, putting on his sunglasses and giving his Italian arm-chop and two-fingered salute. "Here are your winners... MATTHEW SKINNER and SCION!"

After they and the defeated Alliance members had left, Rose turned to Tazz and Cole. "It was nice working with you, Michael. Wish I could say the same for you, Tazz. But get used to it. I have a feeling you'll be seeing more of me in the coming weeks." But before Tazz could demand an answer, the Californian was already heading to the back.

* * *

Paul Heyman had watched this with Shane and Triple H in the Alliance VIP Room. "I don't like the sound of that," the ECW mastermind muttered.

"Neither do I," Shane added. "Rose is up to something, and the bastard's so clever I don't think we'll see it coming."

"Well I'll tell you what I see," Triple H growled. "Twice in the past week, somebody has run in and cost us a match or respect. First it was this Scion creep, and now the Z-Men have themselves a new manager."

"So what do you think we should do about it?" the young McMahon asked.

"Do exactly what the WWF did to the Alliance," the Game replied. "We guard the doors and keep these wanna-be's out of the arena. They can't make trouble if they can't get in."

"Good idea," Heyman chuckled. "Give `em a taste of their own medicine!"

As the three Alliance ringleaders made these plots, a slim but muscular woman with raven-colored hair and a neat business suit was standing just outside their door. She smirked a bit, then turned and walked to the garage. Idling there was a black limo. The woman slid into the back seat and leaned back.

"They're planning to shut us out of the arenas," she said to Billy Rose, who was seated on the other side of the limo. "Give `em a taste of their own medicine, I think was the way Heyman put it."

The Californian smirked. "Well, that's what that fat bingo-hall operator thinks, Jenny," he replied. "That's what he thinks."

-more to come-

Next: W/ECW is tries to shut out the run-ins, but Rose is one step ahead of them.

If you have any ideas for possible feuds/relationships for any of my characters, drop me a line at jay_winger_2k@hotmail.com.

-=Jay 2K Winger=-
Live and Almost Legal
January 25, 2002