Notice: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters or people I used here. I am just borrowing them for entertainment purposes.
Author's Note: You didn't think I forgot about Barb Wire or VIP, did you? A part of the enemy's plot is revealed in this chapter as more of the mysterious shadow government The Underground is slowly revealed. The High Prince Dragon makes a small cameo. Watch out for the next chapter.
Eternia:
Harry Potter and the Immortal's Knight:
Chapter 12: Barb Wire's First Assignment:
The roar of the crowd was deafening as the VIP crew atched their redheaded target enter the ring. They didn't know what was so special about this particular wrestler. There didn't seem to be anything special about her.
'Valerie seems to know something about the target,' thought Tasha. She asked, "What is so special about her, Val?"
Valerie didn't answer. Valerie wasn't dressed up as Valerie Irons this night. This night she was dressed up as the supposedly dead Barb Wire. A black domino mask covered her face preventing strangers from knowing who was underneath.
"Tasha, Nikki, go in the ring and attack her," Valerie, or rather Barb Wire, instructed.
"What?" Nikki asked surprised.
"You heard me, Nikki."
Tasha and Nikki exchanged looks with each other and shrugged. They jumped out of the crowd and into the wrestling ring surprising the two wrestlers inside and everyone watching.
"What is going on here? This wasn't part of the show?" asked the surprised announcers.
"If I'm not mistaken, JR, I believe those two ladies work for the world renown celebrity bodyguard Valerie Irons," said Tazz.
"Yes, but what are they doing here? What does VIP have against Lita?"
"I don't know, JR. But Lita may be in for some trouble by the looks of things," said Tazz as he watched Nikki throw Ivory, who was going to be Lita's opponent, out fo the ring.
Lita was warry as she watched her would-be attackers. They were currently at a standstill waiting for the first person to attack.
Finally, she asked, "What do you two want?"
"Sorry about this, but a job is a job," Tasha apologized.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lita was confused.
"Nikki, cover me," Tasha instructed as she threw a punch at the redheaded wrestler.
Lita caught the punch and redirected it using Tasha's momentum to flip her over. Before she could fully recover, she found herself barely dogding a spin kick from Nikki. She rolled herself upright and got herself behind Tasha.
Tasha sensing danger looked up and found herself face to face with Lita's boot.
"Ooooh!" the crowd cringed as they saw Lita's boot connect with the celebrity bodyguard's face nearly knocking her out.
Nikki took out an expandable baton out of her holster and tried to attack the wrestler with it.
Lita shifted her position just a few inches to the left and countered with a knee hitting Nikki in the stomach.
Now both celebrity bodyguards were on the ground. Lita still had her guard up looking at the two in case they attack again.
Slowly, Tasha and Nikki got up from the mat. But before they could attack again they found their boos in front of them signaling them to back off.
"That cannot be who I think it is. It is impossible!" JR was stunned immediately recognizing the newcomer by her costume. "She's dead!"
Tazz turned curiously to his co-announcer, "What is it, JR?"
"Tazz, have you ever heard of the bounty hunter, Barb Wire?"
"Well, yeah, but, JR, isn't she dead?"
"If she is dead, then what is she doing in that ring?" was JR's stunning response. "It happened five years ago, Tazz. The news reports say she was looking for some convicts hiding out in some warehouse in Texas. Without a warning, the warehouse exploded killing everyone inside including Barb Wire. When the cops and firefighters got there, there was only one body that was still recognizable: Barb Wire's brother, Charlie. He was the only one outside the warehouse when a random sharpnel from the explosion nearly cut his head completely off. The rest of the corpses were found inside the warehouse. They were nothing but charcoal. The bodies were so damaged by the fire and explosion that they couldn't even tell which bodies were male and which were female."
Back in the ring, Barb Wire signaled for a microphone. A stagehand immediately handed her one. She took off the dominoe mask revealing the face of world renown celebrity bodyguard Valerie Irons.
"Valerie Irons…" JR breathed.
"The legendary Barbara Kopetski, Barb Wire. Oh, I nearly forgot, you go by Valerie Irons now-a-days," Lita recognized her old acquaintance. "What do you want?"
"Five years ago, Barb Wire died in an explosion. Valerie Irons was born from those ashes with a new name and a new life. You told me that no one would ever find out that Barb Wire and Valerie Irons were, in fact, one single person," Barb Wire paced. "A few weeks ago, someone came knocking into the VIP office looking for Valerie Irons, but calling her Barbara Kopetski, Barb Wire. I want an explanation."
Lita was furious, "That's it! That's why you had those two attack me?! You couldn't have asked me in private?!"
Barb Wire's face was stoic.
Lita shook her head and continued, "When I gave you your new identity five years ago, no one but me knw of the change. Not even my foster father knew what I did."
"Then how did someone find out?"
"I didn't say anything," Lita defended herself. "I've known you long enough to know that isn't the only reason why you are here."
Barb Wire took off her long coat to reveal her skimpy black leather outfit. She put her fists in a fighting stance.
Lita cracked her knuckles in response and got herself in her own fighting stance.
The entire arena was silent. The tension in the air was so thick, you can cut it with a knife.
Finally…
Lita and Barb Wire rat to each other at full speed. Their fists collided at the center of the ring.
Barb tried to trip Lita off her feet with a sweep kick. Lita jumped over the kick countering with a spinning kick that connected with Barb's left shoulder. Barb let the force of the blow direct her as she answered with her own spin kick hitting Lita on her back. The two backed away from each other to catch their breath.
Over at the announcers' table, JR and Tazz were stunned by the two ladies. Barb Wire's fighting ability did not surprise anyone considering her reputation. The real surprise came when they realize that Lita wasn't just keeping up with the bounty-hunter-turned-celebrity-bodyguard, she looked like she could actually win.
To the common eye, it looked like it was Barb Wire who had the advantage. But to someone who had a veteran knowledge of fighting, it was clear that the legendary bounty hunter's strikes were barely bing felt by the redhead.
"Did you know that Lita can fight like that, JR?" asked Tazz. Lita and Barb Wire had started exchanging blows once again.
"No, Tazz, I didn't. But, tell me, what can you see by the way she's fighting?" JR nodded at Lita.
"It looks like she's loosing," Tazz ansered as he saw Barb Wire connect an elbow to Lita's face.
"Look closer," the cowboy adviced. "Lita is barely feeling those strikes. I have only seen two other wrestlers here in the WWF easily shrug off solid strikes like those."
Tazz turned curiously to JR.
"The Undertaker and Kane."
Tazz'z eyes opened wide with surprise. Now that he thought about it, Lita and the Undertaker had the same eyes. He had always overlooked it because the Phenom's eyes were ice cold while Lita's eyes were warm and friendly.
Back inside the ring, Lita felt her anger rise as Barb Wire redirected another of her punches. She felt the fire boil in her blood as she was thrown down the mat once again. She suddenly rose to a sitting position and she turned an angry glare at Barb Wire.
Barb backed off immediately…Lita's eyes rolled to the back of her head, 'What the…'
Lita's eyes rolled back, but instead of the familiar green eyes, they were now mismatched. She raised her hand in the air and brought it down suddenly…
CRASH!
Barb Wire barely dodged the sudden lightning strike.
Lita's right hand glowed red as fire appeared in her hand. She threw the fire at Barb Wire.
Barb Wire dodged again.
"I've got no real problems with you Barbara, back off," Lita warned.
"So the rumors were true. You are their sister."
"Just tell me why the hell you're here Barb!"
"There is an underground war being fought in Great Britain. My client hired me to find you and send you there. She said they might need your help in the war effort," answered the bounty hunter.
"And why would they need my help? I'm just a wrestler."
"No you are not," Barb Wire corrected. "You are Sage Lord Red Hawk, the surrogate daughter of Master Sage Marius. Your skills and resources as a Sage would come in very handy for Britain's defenders."
"You still haven't answered me, Barbara."
"There is a dark wizard lord trying to conquer the world and destroy everything and everyone that goes against his ideals! I would think that is enough reason for anyone to help," Barb Wire exasperated. Personally, she is neutral to the whole situation, but the female wrestler's apathetic responses are contrary to her popular image.
The bounty hunter's answer didn't seem to affect the redheaded diva, "I am an Underground lord, Barb. Regardless of where my loyalties lie, my help does not come so easily."
"Fine," Barb sighed. "I didn't want things to have to go to this, but you give me no choice."
"What could you possibly do to me?" Lita sneered.
"If you do not help, I will tell your brothers who you really are," said Barb Wire. "It sounds a bit childish, I know. But I know as a fact that you don't want your brothers knowing who you are…especially with them so close."
DONG…
DONG…
DONG…
BANG!
"Rollin'" and "Burned" came up suddenly as the Undertaker and Kane appeared walking up the ramp. Both brothers looked intruiged and tense as they entered the ring.
Lita hear herself curse as she saw the Undertaker and Kane's eyes focus solely on her.
Barb Wire looked at the three wrestlers one by one. She realized that Lita's eyes were now mismatched like Kane's.
"Mark and Glen Calloway," she gestured at the two brothers, "meet Amy Dumas, born Jezebel Calloway," she finished looking at Lita.
Kane looked like he had stopped breathing for a moment. The Undertaker's expression stayed blank.
"We will talk about this later," the Undertaker told his long lost sister. He turned to Barb Wire, "She will be in Britain."
"Now, wait a second! You' can't…"
The Undertaker's glare stopped Lita's protest, "You already have a lot to answer for, Little Girl. Do not make things harder than they already are. You are going to Britain."
Lita merely looked down in submission, "Fine."
The Phenom returned his attention to Barb Wire, "We will finish this conversation backstage. You know better than to talk about such matters in public."
Undertaker then lead his siblings and the VIP crew backstage.
"What the hell just happened, JR?!"
"I don't know, Tazz. But one thing is for certain: Lita has a lot to answer for concerning the Brothers of Destruction.
Everyone backstage was tense. The Calloways and the VIP crew went to a private room to finish the conversation they had back in the arena. The Hardy Boyz, Eddie Guarero, Chris Benoit, and Vince McMahon soon followed them. The rest of the wrestlers were curious as to what was going on and they wanted to listen in. But all knew better than to do so especially after the eldest Calloway had nearly broken in half a random staff member who had accidentally gotten in his way.
"What are you doing here, McMahon? This does not concern you," the Undertaker's voce had an underlying anger in it.
"On the contrary, Undertaker, I think it does. A supposedly dead bounty hunder, two bodyguards, and one of my star wrestlers causes a scene in my ring and starts talking about conspiracies and an underground war? I think I have every right to know," said the WWF's CEO.
"I understand the Hardy's pressence, Lita is going out with Matt," the Undertaker nodded at Matt and Jeff. Then he looked at Eddie and Chris, "But what are you two doing here?"
"They work for me," Lita answered for them.
"Are you going to explain what the hell is going on or not?" Jeff asked impatiently.
"There are many different societies in this world. Some you know, but most you would never dream exists," Lita started to explain. "You all know of the mutants and the metahumans. But there are also others like the Wizarding World and the demonic underground. Most societies know of each others' existence to an extent. Thousands of years ago, these societies had an agreement with each other. You see, humans have a tendency to fear what they don't understant. As a response, The Law of Containment, or The Law, was formed. It states that one society cannot interfere with the problems or matters of another unless of the absolute necessity."
The Undertaker continued for her, "A government was formed by the Crown to oversee this law among other matters that deal with the separate societies. They answer directly to the Crown of Earth or whoever the ruling regent happens to be."
"In our case, the Crown is Prince Endymion and the ruling regent is the Original Red Power Ranger," Mr. McMahon followed.
"This is a nice civics lesson and all, but what does this have to do with what happened out there?" Matt asked.
"Everything," the Undertaker said. "The Underground has many different sects to deal with different matters. The Fangs are basically the "cops" of The Underground. The Magi deal with anything magical. The Sages deal with various information. And the Riders deal with various sorts of trade. I am the Shadow Magus of the Order of the Magi."
"And as you heard earlier, I am Sage Lord Red Hawk of the Circle of Sage," said Lita.
"What about Kane?" Jeff turned to the only masked Calloway.
"He is the Fire Sage, my chief enforcer and second-in-command," the Undertaker answered for his younger brother.
"Enforcer?" Nikki asked.
"The juggernauts of The Underground…supersoldier, bodyguard, army, and fighter all in one package. They're also called the "samurai/knights of The Underground" because of their absolute loyalty," Chris answered.
"You seem to know a lot about this enforcers, Chris," Matt commented.
"He's your girl's CE and 2iC, Matt. I'm her numero 2 enforcer," said Eddie.
"Recently, rumors have been flying around," said Lita. "They say The Law has been broken. Until Barb mentioned an underground war in Britain, I thought they were just rumors. Apparently not."
"What does that mean, exactly?" Mr. McMahon had a bad feeling.
"Vince, the last time The Law was broken, WWII nearly ended the world," the Undertaker's voice was grave. He asked Lita, "The people attacking Britain, what do they want."
"How would I know? Like I said, I thought it was all just a rumor," Lita defended.
"Do you really expect me to believe that the Master Sage's surrogate daughter knows nothing?! I am a Magus! Go play that bullshit on a mortal! I don't care. But do not play it on me!" The Undertaker chastised the younger Underground lord.
Lita knew her oldest brother was right. There is no way she can't not know about the situation in Britain. She did know something, "Excalibur."
"Pardon?" Mr. McMahon interrupted suddenly. "Isn't that just a myth?"
"Excalibur is not a myth," Kane answered to everyone's surprise.
Lita began a long explanation, "The true Excalibur was created for the Supreme Lord of Light millions of years ago. It was forged as a symbol of hope to a universe in a time of chaos. It was a sword to be passed from one Supreme Lord to the next. Its last master…"
"…was my father," finished a man wearing a red dragon mask that covered his whole head. Right next to him was his younger brother who wore a red ape mask of a similar design. The wrestling world knew them as Rex Dragon and the Apeman. But to the Power Rangers and to The Underground lords, they were…
"High Prince Dragon and Prince Ape," said Lita. "Yes, sir. Your father, Zordon, was the last true master of Excalibur. But because he was imprisoned 10,000 years ago, he wasn't able to use the sword himself. About 1,000 years ago, Arthur appeared in Britain in hopes of uniting the country and bring peace after all the chaos and devastation caused by the fall of the Moon and the Earth Kingdoms."
"My father knew that Arthur was a noble. Man. He thought that maybe with Excalibur in Arthur's hands, the dreams of unity and peace would become a reality. He was right. But Arthur failed. Camelot fell because of a traitor and the true Excalibur disappeared from history," the Dragon explained.
"But the story doesn't end there," Lita continued. "When Excalibur was first created, its first master knew that safeguards had to be made in case the sword was ever lost. Unworthy people may find the sword and use it to their own means. He had the crafters of the true sword make false copies of the real one and sent them throughout the universe. The intent was that the false Excaliburs would hid the true Excalibur's location."
Matt concluded, "Let me guess. One of those copies is in Britain."
The Master Sage's surrogate daughter sent a worried glance to the two Rangers.
"What is it?" the Undertaker asked when he saw the look.
"The copies aren't as powerful as the true Excalibur, but they are still very powerful," said Lita. She then revealsed, "Where the true sword is, no one really knows. But the Sages do know of seventeen copies in this planet. The six most powerful of those seventeen are all in Great Britain."
"If united under the wrong hands, those six can be used to conquer or destroy this planet," the Apeman revealed shaking the cores of everyone in the room.
"The dark wizard attacking Britain goes by the name Voldemort. He has allies among some disgraced Underground lords. Go to Britain. Find Lord Aurelius. He'll know what to do," the Dragon instructed before leaving the room in silence.
"Sir?" Lita asked when the younger Ranger didn't leave with his brother.
"Lord Aurelius, his fiancee, Hogwarts's Golden Trio, and their Headmaster are the best defense for Britain right now. I know they can handle this matter on their own," said the Apeman.
"Then what is the problem?" Mr. McMahon wondered.
"Deal with this situation as quickly and as efficiently as possible before Voldemort and his allies become too powerful," Apeman adviced looking at the five Underground officers. "You have all heard of my brother's wrath. I do not want to have to deal with it again anytime soon. Are we clear?" He then left the room and went after his brother.
"Yes, sir," they all replied seriously remembering the last incident that someone had incured the Dragon Prince's wrath.
He had released his hold on his repressed power and hidden anger. The pressure it caused was so strong everyone, save the High Prince's siblings, couldn't breathe. Pieces of the ground broke off and rose to the air. The weaker hearted people present had collapsed unconscious.
"There is one more thing that I don't completely understand: why you guys? I mean no offense, but why?" Mr. McMahon asked the Calloway siblings.
"Some people are born to it," Lita explained. "Some never had a choice."
"Why would the Crown recruit wrestlers to run a government?" Tasha asked the big question.
"Do not look at them as wrestlers, Tasha," Barb Wire adviced. "Look at them as celebrities."
The people in the room who weren't members of The Underground were confused even more.
"Of course!" Mr. McMahon exclaimed. "Celebrities travel around the world all the time. If they act strangely, the media can always blame it on eccentricity or something. Celebs have the perfect alibi for whatever it is they need to do!"
"Exactly," said Eddie. "All those deaths you hear about celebrities, they are not always what they seem."
"It's not exactly confined to just celebrities. If you have a famous name or a high ranking position chances are you are either Underground, a client, or an alibi," said the Undertaker.
"How come no one's known about this?" Jeff asked.
"We've been around for thousands of years, Jeff. We know how to hide ourselves and keep our secrets," Lita smirked. "Now, if you don't mind: Chris! Eddie! We got work to do!"
Lita and her two enforcers left to follow their next mission.
Mr. McMahon turned to the Undertaker, "What now?"
"Kane and I also have to go. The rest of you forget this ever happened. You do not want to involve yourselves any further than you already have," the Undertaker adviced before leaving the room with Kane.
Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy the story so far. I think this is the longest chapter I've written yet. Now we know what Barb Wire's assignment was. We also now know at least part of Voldemort, Kol'fran, and their allies' plans. What is the next chapter going to bring? Send me your reviews about the chapter.