The Counter-Invasion
By: Jay Winger

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

Teaser: It's Monday Night Raw. What fallout will there be from the Rumble? And what of the Hellions and The Storm?

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, 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. Lyrics from "Defy You" by Offspring are used without permission.

Previously: After Triple H def. Kurt Angle to retain the WWF Championship after some interference by Stephanie, the Rumble itself began. The participants were (in order): Python, Hugh Morrus, Chavo Guerrero, Jr., Smoker, Nate Starr, Mike Awesome, Justin Credible, Shawn Stasiak, Christian, The Hurricane, Chris Kanyon, DDP, Bradshaw, Tommy Dreamer, Lance Storm, Soul, RVD, Scion, Mark Jindrak, Raven, Edge, Stone Cold, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Billy Kidman, Faarooq, Hal Maxim, and Test. The majority of the Rumble was divided by organization. The Alliance wrestlers all did their best to eliminate the WWF or CIW, while the WWF and CIW did the same to the Alliance. Shawn Stasiak had the dubious distinction of lasting the shortest amount of time in the Rumble, as well as being the first eliminated. In order of elimination: Stasiak, Morrus, Python, Nate Starr, Justin Credible, The Hurricane, Mike Awesome, Kanyon, Chavo, Bradshaw, Smoker, DDP, Jindrak, Dreamer, Lance Storm, Raven, Edge, Soul, Matt, Jeff, RVD, Kidman, Big Show, Faarooq, Maxim, Test, Scion, and Stone Cold. The final four were Test, Scion, Austin, and Jericho, with Test revealing his new allegiance to the Alliance by donning a WCW T-Shirt after eliminating Faarooq and Maxim. Test was then eliminated by a brief alliance by Austin and Jericho, and Jericho then suggested that he and Austin eliminate Scion so they can duke it out themselves. When Austin eliminated Scion, however, Jericho quickly threw him out over the top as well to win the Rumble and a WWF Title-shot at Wrestlemania. Austin, needless to say, was not pleased.

Chapter 14: Raising Hell

Raw: January 27

The CIW limo pulled into the garage, where Billy Rose and Jenny Black got out. Rose bore a few bruises from his Street Fight with Shane McMahon the previous night, but otherwise looked okay. Jenny consulted her paperwork. "No word yet on what the Alliance is planning."

"That can't be good news," Rose remarked. "It means they're playing their cards closer to their vests, and we can't have that."

"Quite," Jenny replied. "I'll see what I can do." She split off from him and headed down the corridor as Rose went into his private locker room.

The Californian flipped the light switch, but the room remained dark. He squinted up at the ceiling. "Great, I'll have to get someone to replace the bulb." He turned to leave, but the door was shut by someone in the darkened corner. Rose jumped back, and a large pair of hands grabbed him and swung him around until he was thrown into a chair. Rose grunted, then gasped for air as a massive forearm locked under his jaw.

"Billy, dear," came a silky voice from the darkness. "You never call, you never write..."

"Almost makes us think you don't like us anymore," came another voice.

"You're not far wrong," Rose croaked around the chokehold on him.

"Oh, come now," the silky voiced-woman said. "We did so much together..."

"Shut up, Allura," Rose snapped. "I made it clear I don't want anything to do with you."

"Be that as it may," the other woman interjected, "some of your people might not agree with that sentiment."

"Bullshit," the Californian growled. "They all hate your guts."

"Perhaps we were wrong," Allura said. "It's not one of your people, per se, that we were talking about."

Rose blinked and squinted into the darkness. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll find out," Desire told him. "Ogre, let him go." The chokehold vanished and he sensed a big form moving away.

"Be seeing you, Billy," Allura said by way of goodbye. The door opened and Rose was temporarily blinded by the light from the hallway. He squinted into it, seeing two feminine forms leave, followed by a tall and muscled male and a shorter but immensely fatter male. Then the door shut and the lights came on. Rose rubbed his throat and swore.

* * *

After the opening pyros had stopped and the smoke cleared, the music of the Game struck up. The fans booed as Triple H emerged from the TitanTron, carrying his title belt, accompanied by his wife and brother-in-law. Shane wasn't his usual skippy self, instead limping a bit and bearing the marks of the Street Fight from the night before. Stephanie looked as nasty as usual, her usual arrogant smirk on her face as she stepped into the ring as Triple H did his water-spitting routine. As the music wound down and the lights came back up, Shane was holding the microphone. He was drowned out initially by the chants of "ASSHOLE! ASSHOLE!"

"What happened last night--" Shane had to stop as the chants began again. "What happened last night was unspeakable." He scowled and paused, then continued. "What happened last night was a fluke! That's right, a fluke, pure luck!" He turned to Triple H. "At the very least, the Alliance can still lay claim to possessing the WWF Championship, around the waist of my brother-in-law, Triple H!" He glared out at the crowd along with Helmsley as the fans booed again. "But what's worse is what the man who calls himself a Force of Nature did to Booker T last night." The fans now cheered at the mention of The Storm.

"You people make me sick!" Shane snapped. "How can you cheer a mentally unhinged, dangerously psychotic animal like Matthew Skinner, while booing a hip, cool, five-time WCW Champion like Booker T?" Shane scowled at the cheering, then smirked. "Well, cheer all you want. Skinner may have won last night, but now Plan B goes into effect. I will personally guarantee you that The Storm will lose his title to the Alliance!"

The fans booed again as Shane passed the microphone to Triple H. The Game shifted his belt on his shoulder as he paced before speaking. "Last night, I proved something to Kurt Angle. I proved that I am indeed the Cerebral Assassin, that I am smarter than he is. I proved that no matter how many gold medals he won with a broken neck, I am stronger than he is. I proved that no matter how good Kurt Angle may be, I am better than he is. Because the plain and simple fact is that I am The Game, and I am... that... damn... good!"

Hunter adjusted his title again, then continued pacing as he spoke. "Now, as to the man who won the Rumble last night... Chris... Jericho." Helmsley scowled a bit. "I don't think I need to say anything about how much I hate that smart-mouthed little bastard. Jericho thinks he's smart by saying all these clever little things, by making fun of my wife. Well, Jericho, despite all of your bluster, the thing you have to remember is you cannot beat me. You have tried, Jericho, and you have failed. So what you need to do now, Jericho, is prove to me, prove to the world, and prove to yourself that you are not just another big-talker." He smirked and added, "As the saying goes, you can talk the talk, but now you gotta walk the walk. You've got two months to prove it, jerky, and then we will meet at Wrestlemania, and it will be time... to play... The Game."

The trio in the ring then scowled again as the Y2J timer appeared on the TitanTron. As it hit zero and the music struck up, the lights went out and pyros exploded on the stage. The lights came back up on the back of Chris Jericho, who was wearing his Jerichol shirt. He held a microphone in one hand. He spoke into it. "Welcome to... Raw... is... JERICHO!" He turned around and smirked at the sneering Stephanie and Hunter, then said, "Triple H, I think I speak for every single Jericholic in this arena when I tell you to please SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Jericho paced on the ramp. "So I'm just a big-talker, huh? If I'm such a big talker, Hunter, how come in each of our matches together, you come out of them bloodied and battered and barely able to stand on your own two feet? If you don't see me as much of a threat, how come I'm always able to get under your skin with just words? Face it, Hunter, you call yourself the Cerebral Assassin, but I can play mind games with the best of them." Y2J then looked up with a little sneer of his own. "I'm focused now, Hunter. The object of my focus is the WWF Title, and I have now got myself a guaranteed title-shot. Nobody's going to take that away from me, especially not you jackasses."

By this point, Jericho had worked his way into the ring. Stephanie had backed all the way out of it as her archnemesis got closer, while Shane circled around him. Triple H just stood there, glaring a hole in his soon-to-be challenger. But all that tension went elsewhere as the sound of shattering glass filled the arena. The fans stood up in unison and cheered loudly as Stone Cold Steve Austin stalked down the ramp. He hit the ring, glared first at Triple H, then at Jericho, before climbing up on the turnbuckles to raise his fists in the air. He stepped down, walking between the two men, glaring first at one, then the other, before repeating his pose on the second corner. He then did the same in the other two corners before walking up to Triple H. He stared at him, then took the microphone from him.

Stone Cold remained staring into Triple H's eyes before raising the mike to speak. "You and me both know where each other stands. I hate yer stinkin' guts, an' you hate mine. You look at me so much as cross-eyed and I'll stomp a mudhole in your ass, and that's all I got to say about that!" He then turned to his left and faced Jericho. "Now, I got some stuff to say about you. You're the man that eliminated me from the Royal Rumble. But that's not all you did, oh no. What you did is you look at me and say to me, 'Hey, Stone Cold!' And I said, 'What?' And you said, 'Let's you and me team up and throw this son-of-a-bitch Scion out of the ring so we can fight it out between the two of us.' So I say, 'Hell Yeah,' and go to throw that som'bitch outta the ring.

"But then whaddaya do when I throw him outta the ring?" Austin took a step forward and got right in Jericho's face. "Ya grab me by the legs and ya toss me up an' over the top. Now part of me, it says, 'That guy's one smart little bastard, playing a little trick on ol' Stone Cold.' But then I got to thinkin', and you know ol' Stone Cold doesn't do any thinkin' with a dry mouth. And then I thought, 'I'm gonna have to get that sorry-ass little som'bitch back for stabbing Stone Cold Steve Austin in the back!"

The fans cheered at that. Triple H backed away a bit into the corner to watch the sparks fly. Shane joined him there and pantomimed jumping the two of them. Helmsley shook his head and motioned for him to wait. Jericho hadn't said anything while Austin was speaking. The Rattlesnake continued. "Now, since I decided to kick your ass, I decided to follow that ol' sayin', 'know thy enemy.' So I started readin' up on ya." He took a step back from Jericho as though giving him a once-over. "Your name is Chris Jericho." He paused, then tilted his head. "What? Chris Jericho. What? Y2J? What? What's that supposed to mean? Are you some sorta computer virus? Should I get Norton AntiVirus? McAfee VirusScan? What?" He took a step to the left as though still giving him an inspection. "You call yourself the Ayatollah of Rock-and-Rollah? What? What's that mean, you're some kinda Shah? Some kinda Shiek? Are you from Iran? What?"

Now Austin stepped back into Jericho's face. "I'll tell you something right here, you som'bitch, you picked the wrong man to piss off last night when you stabbed me in the back. What makes you even think you're gonna make it to Wrestlemania with Stone Cold Steve Austin breathin' down yer neck?" He didn't let Jericho answer, however, as he turned to the crowd. "If you want Stone Cold Steve Austin to open up a can of whup-ass on this back-stabbing little punk right now, gimme a Hell Yeah!" The fans shouted "Hell Yeah!" which was colored by a shrill little voice from ringside as Stephanie added her own voice to the mix.

Before Austin could strike, however, the TitanTron lit up. "We... are... ALIVE!" came the sound of the Offspring, replaced then by the music of the Union Underground. "How long? How long? How long? How long? - I said how long? I said how long? I said how long? Until you crack..." The fans started cheering as Billy Rose came quickly down the ramp, wearing his CIW T-Shirt under his red over-shirt. He slid into the ring and separated Jericho and Austin, glaring briefly at Shane and Triple H. He took the mike from where Austin had dropped it. "Hold on a sec, hold on," Rose said. "Don't you see what you're doing here? You're playing directly into their hands here." He gestured at the three Alliance ringleaders. "This is exactly what they want, having the WWF try to tear itself apart. Now I dunno about you, but I do not want Horrible Heyman and the Sinister Siblings to have the last laugh here."

The Californian pushed Austin back a bit as he moved for Jericho, then said, "Hey, I can understand why you're pissed off at him. I would be, too, in your shoes, but lemme just ask, you want a shot at Jericho, Austin?" Rose held the mike out for him to talk into it.

Stone Cold said two words: "Hell Yeah."

"And Jericho, you don't have any problems with fighting Austin? You'd take him on, one-on-one?"

Jericho smirked, then said into his own microphone, looking straight at Austin. "Hell Yeah."

Rose smiled. "Then it's easy! Austin, if you want a shot at Jericho, all you have to do is..." He grinned, then pointed at the lounging Triple H in the corner, "...become WWF Champion."

Triple H and Shane both stood up straight at that proclamation, then quickly vacated the ring as Jericho and Austin both rushed them. The trio retreated up the ramp as Stone Cold and Y2J advanced to the ropes, talking trash at them. Rose walked up behind them, smirking triumphantly at Shane and Helmsley, tapping his forehead, as if to say, 'I'm smarter than you.'

* * *

When Rose returned backstage, he was soon found by Vince McMahon and Jenny Black. The billionaire was beaming, "Billy, my God, that was brilliant. You managed to defuse that powder keg and turn the tables on those ungrateful children of mine."

Rose smiled wanly, "Thanks, Vince," he said a bit dully.

Vince frowned. "Something the matter?"

Rose smiled again. It seemed strained. "Just a little bit of the problems of running an organization coming back to haunt me, is all."

Vince nods, sighing a bit. "I can relate to that. Still, good work out there."

Rose smiled again, a bit more naturally. "I don't call myself the Mental Elite for nothing."

As McMahon left, Rose sighed and headed back to his room with Jenny. She looked at him. "They showed up, didn't they?"

He glanced at her. "Am I that transparent?"

Jenny sighed. "I was your girlfriend for five years, Billy. I'd like to think I know you well enough for that."

"My girlfriend up until last year," he pointed out. "I still don't get why you're even going along with this."

"If things work out here," Jenny replied, "I'd like to think that I could get a job in the WWF."

"Still ticked off at me, then."

"Oh, yeah." She read some of the papers in her hand, then looked up. "Though if I had to choose between a bastard like you and a lecherous old fart like Vincent K. McMahon, I'd choose the bastard any day."

* * *

"The following contest is scheduled for one fall." "Test. This is a Test. Test, test, this is a Test." The fans booed a bit as Test emerged, then booed louder as they saw he was sporting WCW colors. "Introducing first, representing the Alliance, from Toronto, Canada, weighing in at 282 pounds... TEST!"

"I still can't believe this man," J.R. said. "He had such a bright future in the WWF until now."

"For those of you at home who don't know what my broadcast colleague is talking about," Paul Heyman said, "let me, on behalf of the Alliance, take you back to last night at the Royal Rumble." The TitanTron continued playing Test's music while showing clips from the Rumble. "Test had the fortune of drawing number 30, and then he took out both Faarooq and CIW's Maxim with a ferocious boot to the face, before revealing to one and all that he had joined the Alliance!"

Test paced in the ring, menacing WWF referee Jack Doan, then turned to face the TitanTron as his music trailed off. "We... are... ALIVE!" The Offspring was replaced by scratching rap music by the X-Cutioners. "Watch them flee... watch them flee... rap up... watch them flee hip-hop hits... and you do it like this..." The burly form of Hal Maxim came out on the stage, wearing dark tights with his 'MXM' logo on the back. He raised his fists in front of him and crossed his forearms in an X (but not like the DX sign), then charged down the ramp. "And his opponent, representing CIW, from Fort Worth, Texas, weighing in at 270 pounds... HAL MAXIM!"

Maxim slid into the ring and was immediately besieged upon by Test, who started laying down right hands. After several attacks, Maxim managed to duck under a swing and hit a stiff back elbow to Test's temple. The Canadian staggered and the CIWer moved in to start pounding on the defector. He whipped him off the ropes and caught him with a stiff clothesline. Test staggered back into the corner, where Maxim moved in for the kill. First, the Texan grabbed the collar of Test's WCW T-Shirt and ripped it downward, exposing his bare chest. Maxim thumped Test's chest with an open-handed slap to the sternum, then a second. As Test winced and cringed from the attack, Maxim pushed his face back up. "Turn on the Fed, will you? Fucking traitor." He gave him a hard knife-edge chop, then grabbed his forearm to whip him across the ring. As he came in for the follow-up, however, Test blocked with an elbow, then hit a strong lariat coming out of the corner.

Next Test started stomping on the Texan CIWer and pressing his boot against his jaw, choking him and stretching his neck back. Referee Doan pulled him back and lectured him, only to have to duck and jump back as Test faked a swing at him. In that momentary breather, Maxim had pulled himself into a crouch in the corner, apparently winded from the attack. As Test turned back to him, however, Maxim lunged out and hit a body tackle that took the tall Canadian down, not unlike a spinebuster. Maxim hit a few right hands after the tackle, then stood back up, holding Test's feet under his arms. He cinched up the hold, then fell backwards, catapulting Test into the corner -- and unfortunately, into Jack Doan as well.

Doan crumpled to the mat as Test staggered away. Maxim dropped back into a football crouch, then kicked the traitor in the stomach as he turned around. He hooked his arms under Test's arms from behind, not unlike a Pedigree, but without putting Test's head between his knees. He hefted Test up and swung his legs up, then dropped him in a deadly piledriver, which J.R. identified as the "Overdriver" from the notes given him by Billy Rose.

Maxim covered, but Doan was still unconscious. The fans chanted one, two, three, along with the black man's nodding head, but then they booed as they realized the referee was out. Maxim swore and got up, going over to Doan. He prodded him with his foot, then grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him up, then dropping him. This jostling roused Doan to come to his senses. Maxim turned around to go after Test, but the Canadian was back on his feet by now. All at once, Test's massive big boot finisher smashed into his face, knocking him to the mat. Test grabbed the leg and pressed down on his shoulders. 1... 2... 3. The fans booed as Test's music played and the defector raised his arms victoriously. At ringside, Heyman was saying, "Yes! What a great start for Test's role in the Alliance! First drawing number thirty in the Royal Rumble and eliminating two people to become one of the final four, then handily defeating CIW's Hal Maxim with his mastery of Tai Kwan Leep -- with the monstrous Boot to the Head!"

Test smirked as he backed up the ramp, wiping off his hands as he went. In the ring, Doan was checking on Maxim, who was sitting up on his elbow, holding his face where the Boot to the Head had connected.

* * *

Backstage, Matthew Skinner was arriving in the arena, draping his WCW Championship belt over his shoulder as he carried his duffel bag. He stopped short and glowered as he was approached by Shane and Stephanie. For her part, the Billion-Dollar Princess was keeping her distance from the Force of Nature, unconsciously holding her face where he'd struck her last week. Shane was smiling, and not in a pleasant way. "Hello, Mr. Skinner."

"What the fuck do you want?" The Storm asked, dropping his duffel and swinging his belt off his shoulder.

"Just to let you know this," Shane-O Mac replied. He leaned forward and spread his hands. "You've got a rematch against Booker T tonight."

"No, I don't," Skinner said bluntly.

Shane blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"After last night," The Storm said, "I have beaten Booker T, the former one-two-three-four-five-time WCW Champion--" He ticked off the numbers on his fingers and then raised his palm to Shane's face before withdrawing it, then counting off again: "--one-two-three times. Therefore, he no longer has any claim to being #1 Contender. And considering that you're numero uno on my Things to Bash the Living Crap Out Of List, I'd rethink any ideas you have for tonight, Shane-O. If you still want me to defend my title, that's just fine. But you'd better come up with someone other than Sucka T to fight me."

Shane frowned, wisely backing up a step as The Storm folded his title belt into a more easily swung form, as though he were planning to use it as a weapon. Then the Owner of WCW smiled. "Okay, Storm, you've got yourself a deal. You won't fight Booker, but you will defend your title tonight."

"Fine," Skinner said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to be somewhere--uhhh!" That last was a sudden grunt as the air was driven from his lungs. The Storm was folded in half as out of nowhere, Rhyno Gored him into the wall. He slid to the floor, groaning and holding his ribs as the Man-Beast stood up, sneering.

"See you later, Storm," Shane called as he and Stephanie left with Rhyno in tow.

"Motherfuckers..." The Storm coughed.

* * *

From a darkened room somewhere, the Hellions were watching the show on TV. Ogre and Orca just watched and absorbed, while the Hell's Belles frowned a bit. Desire spoke. "It would seem he's already in trouble, Allura, are you sure--"

"I'm sure," Allura replied. "It will not take long, but Matthew Skinner will soon fall right into our hands."

Desire laughed. "And then, the Alliance, CIW, and even the WWF will know what Agony is."

* * *

The Storm left the trainer's room after getting his ribs taped. The bandages were underneath his T-Shirt, but he still rubbed his abdomen. "Goddamn Rhyno..."

"Night's not over yet, Skinner!" came DDP's voice. The Force of Nature turned around, just as a two-by-four swung into his forehead, snapping in two pieces, and drawing blood. The Jersey native laughed and made the sign of the diamond before leaving. "Feel the Bang!" he taunted.

The Storm growled as he got back up, putting a hand to his bloody forehead. He sucked in a hissing breath, as if concentrating his rage. He brought his bloody forefinger and thumb down over his eyes, leaving two bloody streaks down his face. He glared coldly through his sunglasses as he stalked toward the ring. "Feel the Bang? Get ready to feel pain and suffering, bastards..."

* * *

Lightning pyros exploded on the stage, as Cold Steel fired up. "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!" The Storm emerged on the stage, face still bloody and with the two streaks on his face. He threw off his sunglasses on his way down to the ring, tossing his belt into the ring as he stomped up the steps and between the ropes. "The following contest is scheduled for one fall, and is for the WCW Championship! Introducing first, representing the World Wrestling Federation... from Dallas, Texas, weighing in at 240 pounds... he is the WCW Champion... Matthew Skinner... "THE STORM!""

The Storm paced in the ring, reclaiming his belt and holding it on his shoulder before handing it to Alliance referee Charles Robinson. Robinson raised the belt in the air before putting it in the corner. Skinner continued to pace, glaring coldly at the ramp, blood drying on his face.

Cold Steel faded out. "BANG! Yo, it's me, it's me, it's D.D.P.!" Rock music played as Diamond Dallas Page came out on the ramp, wearing his airbrushed BANG MAN vest. He sneered at the fans, then raised his hands in the air, forming a diamond between his thumbs and forefingers. He snapped it down as pyros exploded behind him. "And his opponent, representing the Alliance... from the Jersey Shore, weighing in at 235 pounds... DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE!"

Page ran down to the ring, only to run straight into one pissed off Force of Nature. The Storm attacked him savagely, scarcely letting him get to his feet as he kicked, stomped, slapped, punched, and generally starting beating the living snot out of DDP. Robinson tried to pull him back, only to find himself woefully unprepared for the ferocity of Matthew Skinner's onslaught. He wasn't knocked down, just unable to separate the two.

The Storm grabbed DDP's vest and swung him around, shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. He staggered back out, and the fans gave a surprised "OHHH!" as Skinner grabbed him in a half-nelson, then snarled as he whipped back in a vicious snap suplex, dropping Page on his head. Robinson was still trying to maintain order as The Storm started pounding Page in the neck with his forearm. Finally, Skinner stood up and glared at Robinson, and such was the intensity and rage in his eyes that the referee backed away.

Turning back to Page, The Storm pulled him up by his vest and swung him into the turnbuckle again. DDP groaned, fighting to maintain consciousness from the pain in his shoulder and that vicious half-nelson snap suplex. He yelled in pain as Skinner gave him a neckbreaker, then scrambled to the ropes and the outside as his opponent started to look for the Necksnapper.

The Storm didn't let him get away that easily. He followed and threw Page into the steel post, then hurled him across the announce table. J.R. and Heyman both pulled back in surprise as Skinner elbowed Page's neck, then grabbed the ring bell. Robinson came to the outside to try to maintain control and took the bell away from him. The Storm rounded on him, scowling, then grabbed his title belt from the timekeeper. Robinson tried to take that away as well, but The Storm snarled and swung, bashing Page in the face, bloodying it. Robinson signalled for the bell.

The Storm hit Page a second time, then a third, bloodying him further. "Here is your winner as the result of a disqualification... DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE! However, still the WCW Champion... THE STORM!"

The fans booed a bit at the DQ finish, but cheered as they realized The Storm was still champion. But then they started clamoring as Skinner continued brutalizing Page with the title belt, which was now stained a bit with the Jersey native's blood. Robinson finally managed to pull him away. The Storm breathed heavily, clutching his title to himself. Then he wobbled a bit, as though dizzy or having a headache. He then rubbed his eyes and ran his hand down his face, smearing away the bloody streaks on his face.

He blinked as he looked at the nigh-unconscious Page, who was dripping blood all over the announce table. He stared at him, then at his title belt. The Storm seemed a bit shocked, face slack. He backed away, then headed up the ramp as Cold Steel played around him. EMTs hurried past him down the ramp as he left. His own words echoed in his head. Get ready to feel pain and suffering...

What am I doing? he wondered to himself as he left up the ramp.

* * *

Allura laughed softly. "You see? All Matthew needs are a few nudges in the right direction and he'll be fully prepared to return to the fold."

"I understand now." Desire rose from her seat. "We'd best be moving if we want to be near for the next show."

"Yes," the other Belle replied. "Boys, get our things. We're leaving."

-more to come-

Next: The Storm continues his slow descent into madness as tensions rise between Stone Cold and Chris Jericho. How long can Billy Rose continue to play peacemaster?

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
June 2, 2002