The Counter-Invasion
By: Jay Winger

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

Teaser: The Alliance finally crosses the line and The Storm snaps, going on a rampage that goes straight for the leaders of the Alliance.

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: Triple H and the Alliance had a public meeting at the ring, in which Triple H ordered the Alliance to seek and destroy anyone connected to the WWF or CIW. Backstage, the Z-Men ran into The Hurricane before their match, and Zed knocked out the superhero after "losing" a "Soft Hitting Contest." Zed & Zeta def. DDP & Kanyon. Christian def. Billy Gunn and then hit him with a One-Man Conchairto. The Z-Men returned to their locker room after their match, where they were promptly attacked by Lance Storm & The Hurricane. The Storm cut a promo reiterating that the WCW Championship belonged to him, saying he had to be more merciless and aggressive to keep it against Shane's trickery, right before Booker T & Test jumped him from behind. Prior to the main event, however, Billy Rose came out and (despite Shane's protestations) made the handicap match a tag match, with Brick as The Storm's partner. The Storm & Brick v. Booker T & Test ended in a "no contest" after The Storm attacked Brick with a steel chair for trying to score the pinfall. He then hit everything that moved with the same chair before turning to leave, then suddenly changed his mind and started toward Paul Heyman at commentary before the officials managed to drag him away.

FYI: List of Champions: WWF - Triple H (Alliance); Intercontinental - Edge (WWF); European - Eddie Guerrero (WWF); Hardcore - Rob Van Dam (Alliance); Light-Heavyweight - X-Pac (WWF); WWF Tag Team - Dudley Boyz (Alliance); Women's - Rain (WWF); WCW - The Storm (WWF); U.S. - Victor E (CIW); Cruiserweight - Billy Kidman (Alliance); WCW Tag Team - Undertaker & Kane (WWF)

Chapter 19: Crossing the Line

Thursday: Smackdown, February 13

The top of Smackdown began with a tag team match. The Hardys fought against the up-and-coming Alliance team of Lance Storm and The Hurricane. Both teams used some high-flying manuevers before the Alliance team got the advantage, isolating Jeff from Matt and wearing the daredevil down.

Before long, Lance was cinching in the Maple Leaf submission on Jeff, who managed to get to the ropes. The stern Canadian started to pull him back to the center of the ring to do it again when Jeff sprang off the mat with his free foot and drove it into Lance's abdomen, knocking him down in a reverse enzuigiri. Jeff lunged and made the tag to Matt. The dark-haired Hardy hit the ring and started feeding right hands to the heels, eventually scoop-slamming The Hurricane and hitting his second-rope "guns" legdrop.

Lance broke the pin, only to get attacked by a slightly limping Jeff Hardy, who threw him to the outside, then dove through the ropes after him. In the ring, Matt started to go for the Twist of Fate, but The Hurricane blocked it and pulled Matt back down into the Eye of the Hurricane for the pinfall. 1... 2... 3. The fans booed a bit as the self-proclaimed superhero stood up and did his hurri-pose in victory.

Then the boos turned to cheers as the Z-Men jumped out of the crowd. Zed grabbed Lance and promptly Z-Slammed him on the floor as Zeta went to the top and hit a missle dropkick to The Hurricane. The smaller Z-Man looked up as Jeff climbed to the apron. The two locked eyes, then Zeta pointed up before going over to the corner again. The Hurricane lay almost perfectly in the middle of the ring. Jeff went to the top, flashed the gun, then sailed off the top in the Swanton Bomb, rolling off as Zeta stood up on the top rope in the opposite corner. He flashed the CIW hand-sign. "Snooooooogans!" he screamed before flipping off in the Snoogans Star Press, landing squarely on The Hurricane, who curled up in a fetal position from the double impact.

Zeta stood up and whooped, flashing a metalhead sign and slapping palms with Jeff. On the outside, Zed stomped Lance a bit, then nodded to Matt, flashing him a thumbs-up before leaving up the ramp with Zeta. The Hardys posed a bit as Lance dragged his partner from the ring, then looked up the ramp at the retreating Z-Men. Zed pointed back at him. "That was for Monday, jackass."

* * *

Backstage, Rain was busy stretching and doing exercises to limber up for her upcoming title defense. Coach ran up to her. "Rain, if I might have a word? People are speculating and wondering whether or not your boyfriend, Matthew Skinner, will be here tonight, and--"

Rain stood up and faced him. "Coach, I've never known Matthew to miss a show if he could avoid it. Considering how pissed off he is at the Alliance right now, I would definitely bet on him coming to Smackdown tonight."

"But, Rain, what about the questions about The Storm's sanity after what he did last Monday night--"

Rain glared at him. "You think I know what's going on inside Matthew's head? I haven't been able to talk to him in weeks. I don't know how grounded he is in reality, but I do know this -- when he gets here tonight, I'm going to look him in the eyes and get a straight answer from him." She picked up her Women's Championship belt and put it on her shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a title defense."

She shouldered on by Coach, who stammered a bit as he tried to think of another question to ask, then shrugged and turned around, bumping into a glowering Rhyno, who sneered at the departing Rain before stealthily following.

* * *

Rain's opponent for the night was Ivory, with the champion looking for retribution after Ivory's attack on her after she defected to the Alliance. Both women seemed to be evenly matched, exchanging blows and sequences in the early going before Rain started to get the advantage. The Texan woman began to whip and toss Ivory about the ring, beginning to wear the former RTCer down.

Soon, however, Ivory got a few blows in and started to turn it around, landing several suplexes and armdrags to start to tire out Rain. She scoop slammed her, causing Rain to roll onto her stomach as she clutched her back. Ivory took advantage of this by dropping an elbow on her back, then a second. Rain rolled back onto her back, arching her back with pain. The diva defector then covered her for a two-count.

Ivory stood up and angrily snapped at the referee, then leaned over Rain, taunting her. "I'm going to be the champ!" she shouted, but then Rain struck. The Texan woman grabbed one of Ivory's arms and tangled her legs in hers, snaring her in a small package for a two-count. Rain got back up, but Ivory kicked her in the stomach and then suddenly hit her with the Poison Ivory facebuster. She covered again, but only got a two-count again as Rain got a foot up on the rope.

Ivory angrily pulled Rain up and prepared to hit the Poison Ivory again, aiming a kick. The champion, however, had it scouted now. She caught the kick, spun Ivory around, then suddenly hooked her and nailed the Downdraft. As she prepared to cover, however, she became aware of a rising chorus of jeers and boos from the crowd. She turned to look outside the ring and saw the source.

Outside the ring, climbing up the steps, was Test. The large ex-bodyguard stepped over the top rope and sneered as he looked at Rain. She backed up, but bumped into someone else. She turned around and saw Rhyno leering at her. The fans could sense what was coming and were yelling with protest. Rhyno suddenly drove his fist into Rain's stomach, forcing the wind out of her.

The crowd was booing as Rhyno held her up, just in time for Test's massive Boot to the Head to drive her to the mat. The referee was calling for the bell for the disqualification, but Test threw him from the ring as he tried to stop the attack. Test stepped out of the way as an injured and gasping Rain struggled to pull herself to her feet in the corner. But now she was in perfect position for something else. Rhyno was crouched in the opposite corner, beckoning for her to get up. The fans (as well as Michael Cole at ringside) were imploring Rain to stay down, to get out of the ring, to do anything but get up and turn around. Alas, it was not to be. The Women's Champion faced Rhyno just in time to get Gored. Beauty and Man-Beast hit the mat with a horrifying CRASH.

Rhyno stood up, yelling, then climbed up on the second rope, leaning out to glower at the crowd, thumping his chest. "Who's da man?!" he roared. "Who's da fucking man?!" He stepped back down, sneering at the doubled-over Rain, who was curled into a fetal position on the mat. Test smirked and backed out of the ring and up the ramp with Rhyno, as Ivory had retreated much earlier. Referee Mike Chioda slid back in the ring, checked on the fallen Women's Champion, then summoned out the trainers and EMTs.

* * *

Paul Heyman laughed a bit as Rhyno and Test emerged backstage near the parking area. "That was fantastic!" the Mad Scientist of Sports Entertainment declared. "We'll send a message to Matthew Skinner that if we can't break him down, we'll break down everyone he knows!"

"Great," Rhyno grinned in his own inimitable way.

"Now, we're done with you for now," Heyman told him. He placated the ECWer when he started to protest. "I know you want to get at Skinner later tonight when he shows up, but that would be a bad idea. When he finds out what happened to his precious girlfriend, he's going to go after you, and we want to crack this bastard. The longer he goes before getting to you, the more easily we can crack him. Just go for now, but stay nearby."

Rhyno nodded unhappily and got into the car idling next to Paul E. The Man-Beast drove off and out of the garage. Heyman chuckled evilly, then turned to regard Test. The defector asked, "What about me, Paul? You want me to leave too? `Cuz once The Storm finds out what me and Rhyno did, he's gonna come after me."

The ECW mastermind shook his head. "No, you're gonna stay in the Alliance locker room. Crazy as The Storm might be, he isn't crazy enough to go through all of our guys to get to you. Just stay there, and everything'll be fine." He looked up as an ambulance started to pull into the garage, then pulled Test back into the hallway and escorted him to the Alliance locker room.

Paul Heyman's timing couldn't have been better. Because as the ambulance opened its doors, The Storm pulled into the garage in a black Honda Civic. He stepped out of his car, shouldering his duffel bag and then his WCW Championship belt before noticing the EMTs going into the hall. He frowned, following them a bit, then spotted who they were helping out of the arena. He dropped his bag and his belt in shock. "Claire!" he shouted, running up and shoving aside an EMT as he reached the gurney. "Claire! Are you okay? What happened? Who did this, Claire? Who did this to you?" He looked up and grabbed the nearest EMT by the collar. "Who did this to her?!"

The EMT raised his hands. "Hey, man, I dunno--"

The Force of Nature snarled at him, tightening his grip. "What do you mean you don't know?! Who did this to her?!"

"Mr. Skinner, please, calm down." It was Commissioner Regal. Skinner thrust the EMT aside, but kept walking along with the gurney. Regal ran to keep up. "It was Rhyno and Test, but you can't get at them now. That miserable excuse for a human being Paul Heyman sent Rhyno out of the arena, and he's got Test surrounded by the Alliance roster."

Skinner didn't appear to be really listening, he was still trying to coax Rain to look at him. The combination of Rhyno and Test's attacks had rendered her unconscious. The trainers and a few referees were following along as they got back to the ambulance. They loaded Rain inside, as The Storm prepared to leave with them before a voice shouted at him. "Hey, Storm, where do you think you're going?"

The Storm looked up to see Shane standing not too far away. The young McMahon was smirking. "You can't leave."

"Says who?" growled Skinner.

"Says me," Shane said. "The Owner of WCW. And since you're the WCW Champion, that means you have to concede to my will. And I'm ordering you not to leave this arena, or I will strip you of that title."

The Storm snarled and stepped off the back of the ambulance. "You trying to tell me I've got a match tonight?" He glanced back at the EMTs as they shut the doors and began to drive off.

Shane waited until the ambulance was up the ramp before smirking again and answering. "Oh, I'm not saying that. I haven't decided whether or not you've got a match tonight. But don't leave. I might book a match for you while you're gone, and since you wouldn't be able to compete, I'd have to strip you of the WCW Title."

This wasn't the right thing to say. The Storm lunged toward the young McMahon, but the trainers and referees quickly stepped in to hold him back. "You little bastard!!" roared the WCW Champion. He tried to shove his way through the officials. "Lemme go, I wanna wrap my hands around his fucking neck!" Shane quickly retreated as the officials tried to calm down the enraged Storm. "The fucking prick! I'm gonna kill him! I'll kill all of them!"

* * *

Shortly after this, Chris Jericho had a one-on-one match against Booker T. The former five-time WCW Champion was the dominant force through most of the match, but eventually, Y2J managed to pull out a rally and began fighting back, blistering Booker's chest with knife-edge chops before the Houston native ducked Jericho's flying "jalapeño" forearm attack and hit a Harlem Side-kick to reclaim the momentum.

Booker slammed Jericho in the ring, then went to the top rope to set him up for a missile dropkick. When he jumped, however, the Canadian caught Booker's legs and started to turn him over for the Walls of Jericho. The WCWer started shouting in pain as he was turned over, then scrambled for the ropes. Once he grabbed them, Jericho released him and turned away to raise his arms in the air to the crowd. Booker slowly got to his feet, only to fall prey to Jericho's bulldog. Moving swiftly, the Ayatollah of Rock-and-Rollah ran to the ropes and sprang off the second one in the Lionsault for the 1... 2... 3.

Jericho yelled and posed as he was declared the winner, but unfortunately Booker still had enough wits about him to roll out of the ring and grab the ring bell. As Y2J turned back around, the Booker-Man swung the heavy wooden backing into his skull. Jericho fell to the mat as Booker stared at his right hand, then dropped down to execute the spin-a-roony. Once he was done, he turned back to Jericho and stood over him. "You just got yo' pretty-boy ass kicked by a five-time WCW Champion, sucka!"

* * *

Backstage, Stone Cold Steve Austin was being interviewed by Coach. "Stone Cold, you just saw Chris Jericho get attacked by--"

Austin interrupted him. "What?"

Coach blinked, then started again, "Chris Jericho got--" "What?" "Jericho--" "What?"

Coach held out the mike to talk, but Austin waved it off. "No, go ahead." He waited until Coach opened his mouth, then cut in: "What? Chris Jericho got his ass whupped by Booker T? What? Jericho got his ass whupped by the Booker-Man? What? The five-time WCW Champion? What? Is that supposed to concern me? Should I be worried about Y2J? Am I supposed to be upset? Coach, Stone Cold Steve Austin don't give a rat's ass about Chris Jericho, about Booker T, or about the Alliance. There's only one thing in this world that Stone Cold cares about, and that's the World Wrestling Federation Championship."

He paused, tilted his head a bit. "Wait a sec, I take that back. There's two things in this world that Stone Cold Steve Austin cares about. One is where I'm gonna get my next beer. The other is the World Wrestling Federation Championship, which just so happens to be held by Triple H. What? I said Triple H. What?" Now the fans had picked up on the 'What' and chanted along with him. Austin continued, pausing where necessary. "The Cerebral Assassin. [What?] The Game. [What?] What sorta Game is he supposed to be, Coach? [What?] Monopoly? [What?] Parcheesi? [What?] Pinochle? [What?] Triple H likes to talk about how he's that [What?] damn [What?] good, [What?] but that don't impress Stone Cold Steve Austin one bit! [What?] Stone Cold Steve Austin is going into No Way Out and walkin' out with the World Wrestling Federation Championship, and that's the bottom line--"

"Wait a second!" came an indignant voice. Up walked Kurt Angle, who pulled Coach's mike to himself. "What makes you so sure you're going to face Triple H at No Way Out? If anyone should be facing him, it's me!"

Austin pulled the mike back to himself. "What?" ["What?" parroted the fans.]

Angle snatched the mike back. "I said I should be facing him!"

"What?" ["What?"]

"Me!" "What?" ["What?"] "It should be me!" "What?" ["What?"] "Triple H didn't even beat me fair-and-square at the Royal Rumble! I deserve a rematch!" "What?" ["What?"]

Angle's cheek twitched as he glared at Austin. "Stop saying that!" "What? Stop saying what?" "That!" "Stop saying what?" "Exactly!" "You want me to stop saying what?" "Yes!" "Fine, tell me what you want me to stop saying." "What!" "I said tell me what you want me to stop saying." "What!" "Whassa matter, you deaf, boy?"

Angle looked about ready to explode, but then Commissioner William Regal stepped into view. "Gentlemen, gentlemen, before you start tearing into each other, I should inform you that I've spoken with Triple H, and I've already told him he's to put his WWF Championship up against Stone Cold at No Way Out--"

"Wait, what about me!?" Angle complained. [Elsewhere in the arena, the fans chanted, "What?"] "I never lost fair-and-square to Triple H!" ["What?"]

Regal calmed him down. "And I've booked a match between yourself and Chris Jericho at No Way Out as well. His WWF Title-shot at Wrestlemania will be on the line. So, if you win, Kurt, you'll either face Triple H -- which means you'll get your rematch, or you'll face Stone Cold -- and from the looks of things, it looks like you two have some unfinished business."

Angle paused for a moment, then nodded. "All right, that's fine with me." He then pointed at Austin. "You'd better hope you don't beat Triple H, `cuz I'll snap your ankle in two!" ["What?" chanted the fans.] "Oh, it's true." ["What?"] "It's damn true!"

Angle strode off, and Regal muttered an aside to Austin. "The dear boy seems quite peeved at you."

Austin looked at him. "What?"

* * *

Just before the main event, the TitanTron suddenly lit up as the lights dimmed. The drumroll/thunder started up and the fans rose to their feet as the lights flashed and went out in time with a crash of thunder/cymbals. "This is your Storm Warning!" The music of Cold Steel roared up as the lights came back, showing that Matthew Skinner was marching down the ramp. He was wearing his GeT SeT To GeT WReCKeD T-Shirt and carrying his WCW Title in one hand as he hit the ring. He wasted no time posing. He grabbed a microphone, swung about and faced the ramp. "Cut the music!" he snapped. Obediently, the producer did so.

The Storm paced in the ring, swinging his title belt up onto his shoulder as he swung about to face the ramp. He pointed with his free hand. "I'm gonna make this short and to the point -- Test, get your ass down to this ring so I can shove my boot up it!" The fans popped at this challenge, and started chanting, "Skinner! Skinner!" The Storm made no sign that he'd heard them. He continued pacing in a circle, glaring up at the TitanTron as Test refused to emerge. "Test, I don't have all night. Either you get your ass down here, or I'm gonna march right back there, kick the holy living crap out of whoever gets in my way, beat you into a bloody heap, and then drag you out here to finish the job!"

He paced for another minute before the TitanTron lit up. "This is Extreme" started playing, however, as the purple logo of ECW flashed on the screen in between flashes of the word EXTREME. The fans started booing heavily as Paul Heyman came to the ring, smirking in his inimitable evil way. He stepped into the ring and took a mike as Skinner tilted his head at him. Heyman prepared to speak, but The Storm cut him off. "Unless Test got short, fat, bald, and American... you damn sure ain't Test."

Heyman waved it off. "Mr. Skinner--"

"No!" The Storm cut him off and took a step forward. "I don't want you to open your damn mouth unless it's to tell Test to get his ass out here!"

"Mr. Skinner," Heyman started again, "I came out here to tell you--"

"Are you still talking?" Skinner interrupted. "You must be even stupider than you look, Heyman. I told you to get your overweight ass out of this ring and to get Test out here."

"Mr. Skinner," Heyman said loudly, attempting drown out the "Skinner!" chants. "I came out here to tell you exactly how you can rectify this whole situation."

"I'm about ready to rectify your ass, Paul," Skinner growled.

Heyman ignored this. "All you have to do to stop the constant attacks by Rhyno and Test and the rest of the Alliance is lose the WCW Championship." The Storm glowered, sliding his belt off his shoulder as he held it in one hand. Heyman smiled. "That's right. All your troubles will go away when you just give up your title."

"Right," snapped the Force of Nature. "Like losing my title is going to take back what you and your goon squad did to Rain!"

"Hey, don't get snippy at me just because you weren't here to save your girlfriend!" The fans immediately knew that Heyman had scored big, giving a big "Oooh!" as The Storm turned away angrily. He dropped his mike as he quietly seethed.

Heyman continued. "If you choose to keep fighting, however, you should know that you have no chance of retaining your title at No Way Out! Because you're not going to be facing a man, Mr. Skinner. You're going to be facing a monster, a Man-Beast, you're going to be facing Rhyno. Rhyno is going to show you no remorse, Storm. He doesn't give a damn about you, your girlfriend, or your little quest to bring 'honor' to the WCW Championship. All he cares about is inflicting pain and suffering on you and anybody who makes the mistake of being your friend."

The Storm wasn't looking at Heyman. He was looking down at his title belt as his other hand rubbed at his bandaged forehead, at the scabbing wound that had been repeatedly busted open over the past few weeks. Heyman was still talking. "At No Way Out, Storm, you're going to come face-to-face with Rhyno. He's going to stand in front of you, and he's going to look you straight in the eyes." The ECW mastermind took a deep breath, then thrust his fist forward, screaming, "GORE! GORE! G--"

His third cry of "GORE!" was cut off as The Storm abruptly swung around, bringing his title belt up and directly into Heyman's throat. Paul E's shout turned into a croaking sound as he grabbed at his injured throat, falling to the mat. The Storm stood over him, glaring coldly down at him. He picked up Heyman's mike and said simply, "I grow weary of the noises you make."

That said, he hauled Heyman to his feet, then grabbed his ponytail, pulling his head back and exposing his neck. The fans were clamoring, cheering this on. The Storm swung his hand up and around, chopping Heyman in the throat again. Another choking sound came from the Mad Scientist of Sports Entertainment as he fell to the mat again. The Storm snarled and crouched next to him, holding up the belt. "You see this, Paul, this is mine! I'm not giving this up without inflicting a lot of pain and suffering of my own, Paul, and you and the whole fucking Alliance are going to learn just what agony really is!" He grabbed Heyman's fat face and pressed it against the gold belt. "Starting with you, Paul!"

The fans' cheering slowly turned into troubled murmurs as The Storm suddenly turned Heyman onto his back and grabbed his arm in a hammerlock. He then knelt on the twisted arm and applied the Necksnapper, making Heyman scream hoarsely. With a snarl, the Force of Nature shifted his grip so it was firmly on Heyman's neck, not his jaw. With the pressure on the choke, Heyman's face turned a disturbing shade of purple and his eyes bulged.

Referees and officials came sprinting out, and futilely tried to pull The Storm off of Paul Heyman before he killed him. The Storm merely pulled back and screamed to the heavens, "Come on! Come on, let's hear that snap! Let's hear that fucking snap!" Heyman had stopped moving by now, his face turning darker and darker shades of purple. Finally Alliance people started to come down the ramp, and finally The Storm released Heyman, standing and scattering the officials, grabbing his title belt and smashing the first Alliance member who happened to get on the apron, that being Shawn Stasiak.

Paul Heyman lay motionless in the ring as The Storm paced around him, glaring hatefully at the Alliance superstars who surrounded him, held back by struggling officials. The Storm raised his title belt high as he stepped through a small path the refs had managed to make in the angry Alliance. He backed up the ramp, a small, disturbed smile resting on his lips as his gaze landed squarely on Shane McMahon, who had slid into the ring to check on his cohort. Shane-O Mac looked up and swallowed nervously as he saw that look, the look of a predator marking its next prey.

-more to come-

Next: The Storm has finally snapped and has begun unleashing his rage on the Alliance. Paul Heyman was first. Will Shane be next?

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
August 19, 2002