The Unmasking of Rex Red and Wolf McBlue
By: PernDragonrider (with major help from psav2005 and Ghost Zero)
Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Note: I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to psav2005, Ghost Zero, and Silverline Scimitar for their help with this story. Kudos accompanied by massive amounts of bowing and scraping at their feet. Without them this tale would have never been written. Psav2005 stepped up to the plate when Ghost Zero lost his net connection for two weeks and provided the information I desperately needed to continue with this tale. Ghost Zero has gotten back on-line now and his help is just as appreciated. Silver Scimitar has graciously sat thru my poor attempts at making this tale work and giving generous comments and constructive criticism when needed. Any mistakes on what goes on with the characters from the wrestling world are mine alone. Also thank you all so much for the generous reviews for this tale. You all know who you are and if I haven't gotten around to replying to your review, I will get to it when time permits. ENJOY! Now on with the tale…
Chapter Nine – Unmasked at Last!Jason and Billy spared a quick glance at each other and then Jason sighed, "Ready to face the crowd, bro?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Billy replied with a shaky smile for his friend, teammate, and wrestling partner.
"You doing okay, guys?" Triple H asked as he and Hulk Hogan prepared to move away so that the cameras could give the live and pay-per-view audience their first look at the faces of the two mysterious wrestlers that had quickly climbed the ranks to fan favorites without once stepping into the role of a 'heel' in the two years they'd been in front of the cameras.
"Ready if you two are." Jason replied and shot Triple H a sheepish grin.
"Just checking." Hogan said as he and Triple H shared a genuine smile and then allowed their on camera personas to fall back into place and the smiles turned into dark, angry scowls.
The two wrestlers moved slightly and the crowd got their first look at the true faces of Rex Red and Wolf McBlue. The entire crowd in the arena was absolutely silent for about thirty seconds and then Tommy's voice rang clearly through the whole place as he yelled out, "You're both DEAD! Just as soon as I can get my hands on you! I'm going to start by wringing your necks before I trounce on you so hard you'll think GOLDAR and MONDO had it EASY!" Tommy's angry and upset shout seemed to echo in the silence of the arena and then the place erupted with loud raucous laughter and calls of delight.
Thankfully the cameras had moved away and only Triple H and Hogan saw the huge smiles of delighted happiness that covered both Jason and Billy's faces. "I take it that was the reaction you wanted from him?" Triple H asked in a whisper as a cameraman moved back in for shots of the action that was to resume shortly.
"Hell, yeah." Jason and Billy both said simultaneously.
"Ready to finish this?" Hogan asked as he bent close to Billy's face and growled.
Billy nodded and then seemed to surprise Hogan when he folded himself almost in half and wrapped his feet around Hogan's head through the opening between the bottom and middle ropes. Billy continued the somersault motion he'd started and wound up actually sitting on Hogan's broad shoulders outside of the ring. Billy used his position to his advantage and mercilessly pummeled on Hogan's head until the larger man fell to his knees and appeared stunned. Billy used his gymnastic ability and tumbled off of Hogan's shoulders as he hit the ground on his knees. He delivered, what appeared to be, a vicious aerial roundhouse kick to the side of Hogan's head and smiled grimly when the man went down with a groan. Billy slipped his arms under the unconscious man's shoulders and showed off how much muscle he'd gained while working with Jason in wrestling when he easily hefted the bulk of Hogan's weight over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "This piece of trash isn't going to bother you for much longer, Brother Rex." Billy said with his voice again distorted by a small miniature piece of electronics that was hidden near his throat by a piece of fake skin. "He'll learn not to make fun of the Power from me, personally."
"I'll handle this heathen." Jason replied as his own voice was distorted by the same means Billy's voice had been. "We'll teach them to not mock the Creator, Brother Wolf."
While the action with Hogan and Wolf had been going on, Rex and Triple H had just been seeming to struggle where Jason still lay with his head and shoulders outside of the ring. Once Wolf had carried off the supposedly unconscious Hulk Hogan, it was Jason and Triple H's turn to explode into action.
Triple H had twisted in an attempt to retrieve the fallen sledgehammer while not letting up on his leverage he had on Rex's shoulders. Rex took advantage of The Game's distraction to quickly copy the move Wolf had used with Hulk Hogan; however Rex didn't take the move into a full somersault. He just used the momentum his feet had coming over his head to kick Triple H in the back of the head and knock the man's hold off of his shoulders.
Jason then used the extra momentum to kip himself up from the floor of the ring and twisted in midair to land facing Triple H. Triple H charged Rex with the sledgehammer held horizontally across his body, like he was going to use the handle of the hammer to shove into Rex's abdomen. He truly seemed shocked when Rex leaped into the air and executed a perfect spinning heel kick and the results of the kick were clearly seen and heard by the audience as the handle of sledgehammer gave a loud "crack" and a panicked looked crossed Triple H's normally severe expression as he was left holding the now broken handle of the sledgehammer in one hand the heavy unbalanced head of it in the other.
Triple H dropped the useless pieces of his favorite nasty and devastating weapon. He growled low in his throat and launched himself at Rex. The two grappled face to face for a few seconds before Rex overpowered Triple H. Rex lifted the Cerebral Assassin high into the air with his hands tightly grasped under The Game's armpits. He seemed to just casually toss the man in his grasp away from him; however Triple H flew backwards and he landed on his ass at the same time his back and head made contact with lightly padded steel pole in the corner of the ring.
Rex seemed to mimic the large dinosaur his mask had shown as he stalked over and lifted the slightly stunned man onto his shoulders without looking like he was straining in his task at all. He once again showed off his power by lifting Triple H from his shoulders and then simply dropping the man to the mat on his back. This time Rex didn't stop to pose or anything. He simply jumped from where he stood and landed straddling the, pretending to be, unconscious Triple H. Rex dropped to his knees, giving the impression that he'd just abruptly sat on the stomach of The Game. Rex then placed both of his hands on The Game's shoulders and held the man supposedly slowly regaining consciousness to the ring's floor.
The referee, who'd been staying out of the way until this point in time, dropped to the floor next to the two men and gave the three count on Rex's pin of Triple H. Rex stood up and the ref grabbed his right wrist and lifted it into the air to signify his win. At the same time the ref used his other hand to place the WWF Championship belt into Jason's free hand.
Rex stalked dangerously to each corner of the ring and jumped lithely onto the middle rope while he held the belt aloft with both hands. His electronically produced roar of pride and delight that was given in all four corners of the ring over powered the music that blared from the sound system and seemed to shake the very foundations of the arena. Just like the roar of the dinosaur that he took his name from. Once he'd accepted the accolades of the audience from all four corners of the ring, Jason dropped to the ring's floor and then ran toward the side that was nearest the ramp to the staging area. He gracefully used the top rope to vault out of the ring and landed in a crouch on the mats just outside the ring. He quickly jogged up the ramp and backstage to wait for the arrival of his friends and teammates in the locker room.
While the action was going on in the ring, the ten former Power Ranger teammates of Jason and Billy were sitting in their chairs with various expression from gape mouthed shock, stunned surprise, and varying degrees of anger fueled fury. Tommy, Adam, and Kimberly were the three that had expressions of shocked fury flowing over their faces. Trini, Zack, Rocky, Aisha, and Kat were simply stunned past the point of saying or doing anything other than watching Jason and Billy beat the crap out of their opponents. Only Tanya and Justin's faces wore smiles of happiness. Justin's delight was carefully hidden behind a fake mask of shock while Tanya was the only one openly enjoying the reactions of their friends and teammates to the revelation of the identities of Rex Red and Wolf McBlue.
Arriving in the men's locker room, Jason slid to a stop and smiled at his partner and one of his best friends. "Well from what I could see, their reactions are about what we expected. Good thing to know that we can still, even after all this time, guess correctly when it comes to how they'll take a surprise like this." Jason said with a very happy tone of voice as he peeled the piece of fake skin containing the voice altering electronics designed by Billy off his throat.
"I've already showered and will change quickly into some more comfortable clothing while you clean up." Billy said with a smile as he tossed Jason a large black bath sheet he'd just nabbed from Jason's duffle bag. "Our masks are safely ensconced in the bottom of my bag and the replicas for Tommy and Adam are being taken care of by Stephanie for now. You're not going to have long to get ready before the others will be dragging their security forces here; so I suggest you get cracking, Jase."
"You've got that right, bro." Jason said as he stepped toward the large communal shower area at the back of the locker room. "I'd say we've got about a half an hour to get things together and finish this off before we can head to the club and relax for a change. I think we should hold off on disclosing the 'legacy' until tomorrow at the house. I just want to relax and reacquaint myself with all of them and I'm really glad we've finally ditched the masks."
"Me too, on all three, Jase." Billy said with a small sigh. "Although the anonymity of the masks have allowed us to appear in public without attracting large crowds of fans wanting autographs and pictures; the freedom of being able to, once again, be ourselves and not so much our personas will cover any inconvenience of mobs of fans. Waiting on disclosing the existence of the 'legacy' will be all right as well. One shock a day is enough from us for now."
"Also having the opt out clause in our contracts helps too, bro." Jason's muffled voice issued from the shower area. "If the attention gets to be too much for you to handle; you can always use that clause and return to researching the legacy and running the club full time."
"I will leave the actual running of your brain child in your hands, Jason." Billy said with smile. "I know you enjoy this job more than I do; but I am in no hurry to break up our partnership at this point in time."
"Good to know, bro." Jason said as he emerged from the shower area and was drying off his dripping wet nude body. "I'd miss having your company on those long boring road trips all over the country." Jason's smile was all Billy needed to know that one of his best friends was telling the truth and teasing him as well.
"Just surviving this upcoming confrontation with our friend's understand and continuing friendship intact will be sufficient for now, Jason." Billy said seriously as he sat down on the bench near his and Jason's chosen lockers.
"I hear you loud and clear, Billy." Jason said as he quickly tossed on a pair of black boxer-brief underwear and pulled a pair of loose black sweat pants over his hips and pulled a red tank top over his head. Jason ran a brush through his dark hair and then sat next to Billy. "I want this to go over without losing their friendship too. Kimberly will forgive us before the night is over with. Trini, Zack, Aisha, and Kat will too. I think Justin has already taken our deception in stride and Rocky possibly will too. Tommy and Adam are going to be the two that will take the longest; but Adam will understand quicker than Tommy will. I know that Tommy is going to try to kick my ass all over the ring, if only to prove that he still can hold his own against me. If it gets rough in there, you back out earlier than we planned and let me face him. Your martial arts skills have improved greatly over the years; but you're not ready to face a pissed off Tommy just yet, bro."
As Jason and Billy's conversation was going on in the locker room, the crowded auditorium was slowly clearing out. Rocky stood up and walked over to the young woman, Jessica Black, he'd met earlier that night. The muscled security guard, a local unknown wrestler, that had been standing by his chair flanked him as he made his way over and stopped her from leaving with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I have to apologize to you, Jessica." Rocky said with a forlorn tone of voice. "Apparently I'm supposed to go backstage with my friends and I won't be able to meet up with you and have that chat we talked about earlier this evening."
"Hey, that's okay." Jessica replied with a sad smile. "Maybe we just weren't supposed to get together as anything other than a passing 'hello'."
"Come with me?" Rocky asked impulsively. "I'd really like the chance to get to know you. Stay and come backstage with me?"
"I don't think Rex or Wolf would care for that, sir." The security guard said quietly.
"Screw Jason and Billy both!" Rocky said angrily. "They can kiss my lily white ass right now. You back off and leave me alone or you're going to be a smear on the floor, asshole."
"You're not capable of taking me down, fuck head." The larger muscled man growled angrily at Rocky and made the mistake of stepping behind the former Red and Blue Power Ranger and attempting to manhandle Rocky away from Jessica and back to where the others were waiting patiently.
"Excuse me for just a second, Jessica." Rocky said with a put upon tone of voice. He jammed his elbow violently into the guard's unprotected abdomen and then twisted easily away from his 'attacker'. "Call me a fuck head again and I'll rip your head off and shove it so far up your ass that you'll be able to see exactly what you're shitting out!" Rocky's rising in volume and very angry tone of voice had the rest of his friends and the other 'security' men moving toward them quickly.
The man Rocky had elbowed roared in anger and attempted to charge the man that had embarrassed him by getting away from his grip so easily. "You're going down; you bastard!" The guard roared and again lunged at Rocky with nothing but rage showing in his eyes.
Big Show was the first to reach the guard and Rocky. He grabbed the charging guard and spun the man around and shoved him up against the side of ring with an aggravated roar of, "STOP IT NOW! Big Show's voice lost the roar, but not the volume as he continued with a truly pissed off tone. "Rex and Wolf will have your head and your job for laying a hand on one of their friends. Do you really want to piss off one of them you fucking moron?"
The guard attempted to bounce back and again lunged for Rocky. Big Show simply picked the man up and handed him off to Undertaker who'd joined him. "Take this asshole out of here and tell one of the others to get their asses out here!" Show told the man next to him with a grimace of anger and frustration crossing his face.
"You just got lucky, dumb ass." Taker said with a nasty and angry growl to his voice. "The man you just insulted has about four black belt degrees in at least three different styles of martial arts. You would have gotten your head handed to you and you'd have never laid a hand on him. Learn from your mistakes if you want to play with us big boys one day, little man." Undertaker just simply dropped the man in his arms and watched as Edge approached the obviously still pissed off Rocky slowly and carefully.
"Relax, man." Edge said with a gentle tone of voice. "It's over with and taken care of, man. Chill out and explain to me what's going on. I'll see if I can help you out."
Rocky relaxed, as Edge didn't come at him for an attack. "I just wanted to give this young lady; who's obviously a huge Rex and Wolf fan, a chance to come backstage and meet them with me." Rocky said as he released his anger in a whoosh of breath. "The idiot said that they wouldn't like that and unless Jase and Bill have really, really changed over the last few years; I can't see that ever happening."
"I'll check with Rex and Wolf." Edge told all them as he quickly started running up the ramp toward the staging area and the entrance to the backstage areas of the arena.
"Come on, Rocko." Adam said with a smile. "Hi! I'm Adam Park." Adam said with a bright smile for the woman standing there in near stunned silence.
"I'm sorry for being such an ass, Jessica." Rocky said with a chagrined tone of voice and a slightly embarrassed smile in her direction. "I just take some things badly sometimes."
"Hi, Adam Park. Not a problem, Rocky." Jessica said with a smile for him. "But do you really know Rex Red and Wolf McBlue personally?"
"I did." Rocky said with a small smile. "Back in high school we were great friends. Billy moved away, out of the country, during our senior year. Kind of lost track of Jason just after graduation and actually had no idea that Billy was back home at all."
"That's a simplified version of it." Tanya said as she joined the conversation at her husband's side. "Hi, I'm Tanya; Adam's wife. Nice to meet you."
"Hi, Jessica Black." Jessica replied and was a little shocked to find herself surrounded by nine other people and one of the women was glaring angrily at her. "What's up with her?" Jessica thought and then it clicked in her brain rather quickly. "She likes Rocky and is jealous. What can I do to help them out? I mean Rocky seems to be a really nice guy, but I don't think I see him as anything other than a friend. I'll think of something. Just have to go with the flow for now."
"KURT STEPHEN ANGLE! DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND SNEAK AWAY LIKE A COWARD!" Kimberly yelled angrily as Kurt tried to sneak away from everyone and get backstage before Kimberly exploded all over him for neglecting to tell her that Jason and Billy worked with him.
"You needed something, Kimmy?" Kurt asked with a teasing tone of voice that didn't cover, entirely, the trepidation he was feeling.
"You!" Kimberly said stalking up to him and poking his t-shirt covered chest with her right index finger. "You are supposed to be my friend and you didn't tell me that Jason or Billy worked with you. We've been friends for years, Kurt, and you've heard me bemoaning how much I missed seeing them all the time on the phone for the last two years. How could you do that to me?"
"I couldn't say a word, Kimmy." Kurt said truthfully. "When Jase and Bill started working with the organization; before they jumped from behind the scenes to in front of the cameras. I could have told you then; but after they donned the Rex and Wolf personas and masks; I couldn't say a word to anyone about them anymore. I asked if I could tell you and never got an answer from them; however at the time I really don't think either of them was thinking very clearly. They were going through a very bad time and weren't really all there in the head. Which is how I think Vince and Shane finally convinced them to jump into the ring on camera."
"What do you mean a bad time?" Trini and Kat asked at the same time. "Explain!" Trini demanded with a sharp yet hurting tone of command in her voice.
"I know why." Tanya said with a sad note in her voice that caused Adam to wrap her in his arms and hold her tightly against him. "They were in love and ready to ask their girlfriends to marry them. The day they were planning on asking them they lost the two they loved and their apartment in a senseless accidental gas explosion. Jason told me that they would have been at home when the explosion occurred if it hadn't have been for Vince and Shane McMahon keeping them in the stadium while trying to convince them to start wrestling instead of just working behind the scenes."
"What have we all missed in each other's lives by drifting apart so much over the years?" Trini asked sadly as she looked around the group's sad faces. "Jason and Billy didn't even feel close enough to us, anymore, to tell us that they were planning on getting engaged. I think the last time any of us were together as a group was for Adam and Tanya's wedding and that was almost five years ago. We've drifted too far apart for my tastes and I intend to move back to someplace in California as soon as I can."
"I'm coming back too." Kimberly said surprising all of them. "You're right, Trini. We've all grown so far apart that it seems like we never talk anymore and I miss hanging out with all my friends."
"Guys!" Tommy said with the first non-angry tone anyone had heard from him since he'd pulled off Rex's mask and was confronted with Jason's smiling face underneath. "You do realize that two of our friends have just pulled off the best practical joke in the world on us today, don't you?"
"Yeah, we know they have, Tommy." Kat said setting her hand on his shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze. "I will admit that seeing their faces on that huge screen over there was a bloody hell of a shock; but I've had time to think and I understand why they couldn't tell us. We'd have never been able to keep that secret from each other and our other friends. I take it you've taken the time you spent absolutely fuming with anger during the match to think?"
"Yeah I did, Kat." Tommy said with a smile in his voice. "I do know, absolutely know, that Jason and Billy are both expecting me to explode all over them while trying to beat them senseless. I'm planning on giving them just what they expect. I'm still not happy with either of them. Hell they could have, at least, told us Billy was back home."
"Ya know." Justin said with a thoughtful tone of voice. "There are probably more things we're going to find out about Jason and Billy that will make all of you mad at them all over again. I'm not sure what those things are; but they will come up. Maybe we should all be prepared for some extra surprises over the next weeks as we renew and rebuild the once close ties that bound us together."
"You're still a kid, Justin." Tommy said offhandedly and then smiled and ruffled the tall teen's hair in a friendly manner. "However, Justin is right. I'm sure that all the preparation both Jase and Bill put into tonight's surprise won't be the last surprising thing we learn about them."
"You might find out more than you would ever believe." Mick Foley said stepping up to the group with a kind smile on his face. "Edge just got word that the young lady is allowed to accompany you backstage. I don't know the exact quote; but knowing both men it was probably something along the lines of, "Of course you idiot!"
The group had a small laugh even as Jessica looked around with a worried frown on her face. "If my going is going to cause problems; I can leave now and still catch up with my friends for a ride home."
"You're going with us!" Rocky said with a stern voice as he moved to put his arm around her shoulders. He was surprised when Jessica deftly maneuvered Aisha under the arm but shrugged and gave Aisha a quick hug anyway. "I don't think, unless they've changed so much over the past few years, that Jase or Bill will mind an extra tagging along. Kat? Didn't you say David was planning on meeting you at some exclusive new club downtown?"
"He's meeting me at this club he found a few weeks ago, Rocky." Kat answered with a delighted smile on her face. "He said I absolutely had to see the place and that it was amazing."
"I'm going in first, guys." Tommy said with a devilish smile of mischief on his face and twinkling in his eyes. "They're expecting some of us to be really pissed at them, especially since the last time they actually saw our faces we weren't really happy with either of them. I've missed my sparring partner and I'm going to have FUN with this."
"Go for it, Tommy." Kimberly said giving him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Just remember that they're supposed to take us to dinner afterwards; so don't hurt Jase too much."
"Oh, I won't hurt him at all, beautiful." Tommy said giving Kimberly his old nickname for her without thinking even as he draped his arm over her shoulders. "I'm just going to make him wish he'd have told us what he and Bill were doing for a living and that they shouldn't have shut us out of their lives."
The group had a small laugh and they trooped along behind Big Show, Kurt Angle, and Undertaker as the men lead the way into the backstage area an to the locker room where Jason and Billy were waiting.
In the locker room, Jason was uncharacteristically pacing the floor while Billy sat, seeming calm and relaxed, reading a book he'd picked up recently.
The door to the locker room was slammed open and Jason whirled to see a very pissed off Tommy Oliver glaring at him with eyes that appeared to glow with a green fire Jason hadn't seen in years. "You're a dead man the second I get my hands on you, Jason Scott." Tommy growled with an angry tone of voice even as he advanced into the room far enough for Billy and Jason both the see the startled looks on all their friend's faces, both former teammates and wrestling co-workers, from over Tommy's shoulder.
"Hey Tommy." Jason said with a worried tone of voice. "I wanted him a little upset; but never back to Evil Green killing mode!" Jason's panicked thoughts ran quickly through his head as he maneuvered to keep himself between the enraged Tommy and the now slight panicked Billy.
"Don't you 'hey, Tommy' me, Jason Lee Scott!" Tommy snapped back with an absolutely infuriated tone. "You! Could! Have! At! Least! Told! Us! Billy! Was! Back!" Tommy punching in Jason's direction and smiling inwardly, only, as Jason and Billy both scrambled to stay out of his reach punctuated each word.
"GO!" Jason shouted as he'd managed to get both him and Billy between Tommy and the door. Billy spun on Jason's shout and ran past the assembled group of friends and co-workers that were looking on in shock.
"Keep him delayed!" Billy shouted as he turned the corner and ran back toward the ring. "Let Jase thru, but slow him down!"
"Got it, Bill." Triple H said and smiled as seconds after Billy had disappeared around the corner a large blur of red and black went past without saying anything. Hulk Hogan and Big Show just simply stepped into the hallway, effectively blocking the entire thing, as Tommy came walking out of the locker room with a huge smile on his face.
"How fast did they go by?" Tommy asked with a smile as all of them, including the wrestlers started laughing.
"About Warp 9 for Billy and I think Jason was just a touch faster, hmmm, maybe Warp 9.5." Justin said with smile as everyone again laughed happily; even Jessica caught the Star Trek reference Justin had made.
"They headed back to the ring?" Adam asked as he looked into the laughing eyes of Mick Foley.
"Yeah, that was the plan." Mick said with a smile as the large group started back toward the area they'd just left.
"Okay, here's what we're gonna do." Tommy said rubbing his hands together as he smiled impishly at everyone. "Kim, Kat, Tanya, Trini, and Aisha will go first and then give them hugs and kisses. Kim you took your anger out on Kurt Angle so quit pouting. Zack, Adam, and Justin will go next followed by Rocky. I'll be the last one to the ring." Tommy stopped and looked at all the wrestlers that were starting to get the drift of what Tommy wanted them to do for their part of this. "Okay," Tommy sighed. "I have no idea how to make this look authentic without tipping off Jase and Bill that I'm not as pissed off as I'm pretending to be. Anyone have any suggestions?"
"You leave the authentic part to us." Triple H said with his own impish grin starting to emerge. "Kurt, Edge, Taker; you three take the ladies to the ring and talk it up about how hard of time we're having controlling the royally pissed one. "Mark, Matt, Jeff, and Kane; you four go with the first group of guys. Show, Mick, and I will come along shortly with this one."
Kimberly stopped and walked back over to Tommy. She surprised everyone when she threw her arms around his neck and his arm automatically went around her waist to support her. She kissed him, hard and long, on the mouth and then pulled away slightly breathless and with a lot of color in her cheeks. "Be safe, Tommy." Kim almost whispered. "These guys play just a little on the rough side."
"We promise we won't hurt him." Undertaker said with a smile. "We just know how to make it look convincing enough that Jason and Bill will have no idea that he's not truly so pissed he can't see straight."
"How long before you start smiling in the ring, Tommy?" Adam asked as he watched the girls head away with their escorts.
"Oh I'd say about fifteen minutes." Tommy replied with a smile as Adam started away with the other guys.
"Give him a rough time for a few minutes in there, Tommy." Rocky said as he took Jessica's hand and headed back with everyone else toward the ring.
The others had been out in the public area of the arena for about two minutes. Jason and Billy were waiting in the ring when Triple H staggered out onto the staging area and then went down on his ass and backwards somersaulted onto his stomach. He groaned realistically before slumping into pretend unconsciousness as a loud and familiar ki-ai was heard echoing from backstage. Jason and Bill both winced as Triple H landed hard on the metal ramp and then didn't move again. Billy was just starting to exit the ring to go and check on him when Big Show and Mick emerged with a seemingly furious Tommy held up between them by his arms and legs.
"Kick my buddy again, asshole," Mick growled loud enough to be heard in the now silent arena. "And I'll pull off your arms and legs just for kicks."
"Let me go you overgrown, muscle bound, fuck-head!" Tommy screamed as Show and Mick easily carried his struggling body down to the ring and rolled him under the bottom rope. Tommy rolled to his feet and glared down at Show and Foley before spinning quickly and snapping a kick at Jason's head.
Jason was, somewhat, expecting the move the second Tommy regained his footing and he blocked the kick with his left arm while spinning in towards Tommy's body and snapping off a quick punch toward his solar plexus. Tommy ducked under the punch and tried to sweep Jason's feet from under him. Jason jumped back and the two slowly circled each other looking for an opening. Billy stood calmly in the corner and watched the action playing out before him while the wrestlers, Shane, Stephanie, the former Rangers, and Jessica took ringside seats and watched from the sidelines.
"Do they always do this?" Jessica asked Aisha; who was sitting next to her and between her and Rocky.
"Yeah, used to do this all the time back in high school." Rocky answered as he leaned slightly forward and looked at Jessica with a smile on his handsome face. "Missed seeing this and I really miss being in on the action too."
"You'll get your chance; I'm sure." Aisha said with more than a little bit of frost in her voice directed toward Rocky.
Jessica opened her mouth to say something scathing to Aisha; but was stopped by Tanya's hand gently gripping her forearm. "They'll be fine. Enjoy the show; we didn't get to see this as often as Rocky said and I HAVE missed seeing Jason and Tommy sparring." Jessica gave Tanya a small smile and then turned her attention back to the ring.
Jason and Tommy were still circling each other warily. Both men were wearing scowls of concentration that looked to be anger directed at each other; however Billy's expression was one of delight and happiness.
"Kick is ASS, REX!" Kurt yelled with an excited tone of voice. Then he yelped loudly because Kimberly had stood up and stomped on his foot. "OUCH! Now why did you do that, Kimmy? I was only getting into the spirit of things."
"Be quiet, Kurt." Kim said with a grin showing on her elfin face. "They're both quite capable of kicking the others ass they don't need any outside encouragement from the likes of you."
Suddenly the attention was drawn back to the ring as a loud "Hiiii Yah!" sounded from both Jason and Tommy at the same time. Two quickly snapped tornado kicks met in midair and the resounding snap of skin meeting cloth echoed throughout the large auditorium. "Nice one, bro." They both said to the other at the same time. Both men gave sly smiles to one another to show that they'd heard the mutual compliment.
"I'm beginning to consider that you two are extending this antagonistic altercation deliberately." Billy quipped dryly as he stepped forward between the two men that were again circling each other. "Sustenance is desired sometime before the next solar rising commences." As soon as he'd finished speaking Billy vaulted into the air and snapped a quick split front kick at Jason and Tommy's heads. Both Jason and Tommy ducked away from the kick and Billy landed back in the middle with a smile. "Now either spar or shake hands and let's go eat. I'm getting hungry!" Billy demanded with a curt tone that was accepted because of the smile gracing his face.
"Well, bro?" Jason asked his own face breaking into a smile. "Do we spar or do as Billy suggested?"
Tommy smiled and stuck his hand out to shake Jason's hand. He was unprepared, completely, for the sweep kick Billy unexpectedly used and dropped backwards onto the floor of the ring with a slight bounce and soft oomph of air rushing out of his lungs. Billy used his foot and easily rolled Tommy out of the way and then dropped Jason to the floor next to Tommy with a lightning fast move that surprised everyone watching. Jason instinctively threw his arms out and bought them down on to the ring's floor as he fell. Billy then jumped up, in the corner the furthest away from where Jason lay face up, onto the top ropes and smiled happily down at his friends below before his powerful leg muscles launched him high into the air where he did one full and one half revolution of a somersault before landing on top of Jason.
"Damn!" Shane and Triple H, along with Matt and Jeff Hardy, cried in shock as Billy's backwards one and half somersault was completed. "When the FUCK did you learn to do that?" Matt and Jeff cried out as Billy and Jason both rose quickly to their feet while Tommy lay there simply stunned.
"Something we've been perfecting for out tag-team debut." Billy told everyone with a smile.
"Fuck!" Shane said as Stephanie smiled happily. "Dad's going to have heart failure the first time Bill does that, super-moonsault, in a match. Then once he recovers he's going to want everyone to start doing it. Thanks guys, you just upped the bar, again."
"Our pleasure, Shane." Jason said with a slight bow in his boss's direction. "You've stood by us for the past two years, knowing that both of us were holding back on what we could actually do. I'm truly surprised that Vince hasn't used the opt out clause and canned us before now." Jason, Billy and Tommy all three slid from the ring by going under the bottom rope. Tommy was still a little on the stunned side because of the move Billy had just pulled off. Yeah, he'd seen wrestlers do many a moonsault; but the extra height and full flip Billy added was simply amazing.
"First off." Stephanie said rising from her seat and giving both Jason and Billy a quick kiss on the cheek. "Dad's no fool. Even with the two of you doing only standard wrestling moves with a few martial arts style twists thrown in. You both quickly rose to fan favorites soon after your first match. Most wrestlers have to go from 'face' to 'heel' three or more times to achieve the success with the fans that you and Bill have. We all know that both of you are capable of doing stunts that put even the most seasoned and flexible wrestlers to shame. You are our friends, out colleagues, and most importantly family plain and simple."
"Thank you, Steffy." Jason said giving her a hug. "Yeah you're right and your dad isn't anyone's fool. I think he's looking forward to Billy and I beginning tag-team like he's been after us to do for the past year."
"Look, Jase." Shane said with a smile as he gave both men a pat on their backs. "Hunter, Taker, Mick, Hogan and, hell, all of us respect you and Bill. Not only for your wrestling abilities; but also for who you are and the way you do your jobs while guaranteeing the safety of those you're in the ring with."
"Thanks, Shane." Billy said with a smile and his smile dropped from his face as Rocky approached with Jessica and the others.
"Great one, Billy!" Rocky said slapping his shoulder in a friendly manner. "Haven't seen you do anything like that since back in high school days." Billy didn't answer Rocky; he couldn't because suddenly all of his senses were totally focused on the young woman standing uncertainly by Rocky's left side as Aisha glared at her angrily from Rocky's right. He could feel the growl building from somewhere deep in his chest as Aisha continued to glare at the girl on Rocky's left.
"What wrong, Billy?" Rocky asked as he finally realized his comment hadn't been answered and the muscles under the shoulder he was touching were bunching and releasing in tension. "Billy!" Rocky almost shouted his voice rising slightly as his worry increased exponentially when Billy didn't answer him.
Jason moved to where he could see what Billy was looking at and the smile of delight and happiness that started taking over his worried expression caused Tommy and all the others to relax slightly. "Introduce us to your lady friend, Rocko." Jason said with a teasing tone of voice. "I'm assuming this is the young lady that caused the ruckus out here earlier between you and a security guard."
"Oh damn; sorry my manners must have went out the window today." Rocky said with a sheepish smile on his face. "Jason Scott and Billy Cranston meet Jessica Black. Jessica is a big Rex and Wolf fan." Rocky indicated Jason and Billy to Jessica with his hand as he made the introductions.
"Always a pleasure to meet a fan." Jason said with a smile as he shook her hand. "Did you enjoy the show tonight?"
"Oh yes, I really enjoyed the matches tonight." Jessica almost gushed as she smiled and blushed too. "You and Wolf are two of my favorite wrestlers."
"Bill?" Jason asked as he watch his friend closely and saw the very same distinctive signs he's noticed when Billy and he had met Dani and Toni just a few days after moving into the apartment in New York four years ago. "Say hello to Jessica at least, bro." Jason teased with a light tone.
"My apologies for being remiss in my social graces." Billy said with a tone of voice few had ever heard him use before. "It is a great pleasure to meet someone as beautiful and captivating as you are, Jessica Black." Jessica blushed brightly as Billy took her hand and instead of shaking it like Jason had done he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it. "Would you do me the pleasure of coming out to dinner with me, as my date, for the rest of this evening, Jessie?" Billy asked with a bright smile and hopeful tone in his voice.
"I'd love to go out with you!" Jessica smiled happily as the others around them quietly applauded.
"What the heck did I miss?" Rocky asked as he draped his arm around the now completely stunned Aisha's shoulders. "Where did all of that come from?"
Jason just laughed happily and said, "I'll tell you all about it once we get to the Ranger Space for dinner."
"That's the club David told me about!" Kat almost squealed in delight. "Is it all right if he joins us too?"
"Tommy's brother is always welcome, Kat." Jason said smiling as he watched Billy escort Jessica toward the back with his right hand in the small of her back and both talking animatedly together.
Jason held back and let his friends go before him, following Billy and Jessica's lead. He shook his head slightly when Mick stepped up next to him and said quietly, "He's finally fallen again hasn't he?"
"Looks that way Mick." Jason replied with a sad smile crossing his face.
"Hey, what about that pretty Asian lady in the yellow?" Mick said with a serious tone then almost choked as he watched the woman he was talking about have an arm wrapped about her waist and pulled tightly into the side of the dark skinned man she'd sat beside all night. "Oops, looks like she's taken too, sorry Jase."
"Not a problem, Mike." Jason said with a smile. "Besides, Trini e-mailed me last week to tell me that she'd finally pinned Zack down and they were dating seriously. She's had a thing for him since, I think, eighth grade. I never stood a chance with her anyway. Billy's the one I've been worried about. He wouldn't even look at a woman since we lost Dani and Toni. I'm just glad that he's looking again."
"That was way more that looking on his part, Jase." Mick said with a smile. "He just reminded me of myself when I met my wife for the first time. Hope you'll find someone to share that house of yours with when Billy moves out in a few months."
"Won't be the first time, Mick." Jason said with a sad smile.
"Perk up, Jase." Triple H said as he joined in on the conversation. "The night is still young and you just might meet someone at the club tonight that strikes your fancy."
"I don't think lightning strikes twice, Paul." Jason said with a sad tone as he watched all his other friends paired off with wives, girlfriends, or a date for the evening. "Dani and Toni were a fluke thing for Billy and I. Just cause Bill has finally found someone he wants to take out doesn't mean that I will too. Fate isn't usually that kind from what I've observed."
"We shall see what the fates and the night has in store for us." Mick said with a teasing yet totally serious tone interlaced together in his voice.
Jason and Paul, Triple H, laughed as they bought up the rear of the large group that was headed back to the locker rooms to dress in some club clothing and then from there to the Ranger Space nightclub nestled into an exclusive area of downtown Los Angeles.
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A/N: Well that's it for chapter 9 folks. Send me a review to let me know what you think about it. The votes are in and here are the final results of the poll that started a few chapters ago.
7 votes to stay in wrestling. 5 votes to leave. 1 vote of "I don't care". 1 split vote for Billy to leave and Jason to stay.
You, the fans of this tale have spoken. Jason and Billy will remain in the WWF (E) for now.
This isn't the end of this tale, by any means. So stick around for the next chapter. Enjoy!
May the Power Protect You!
PernDragonrider