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Chapter Text

June 25th, 2001

MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Madison Square Garden, New York

The adrenaline rush is still coursing through your veins as Shane McMahon helps you back over the barricade. You had just shown up to interfere in a match between Matt Hardy and the Big Show.

Shane told you that you needed to focus your attention on the redhead, Lita, and deal with the other, Trish Stratus, if necessary.

At one point in the match, Lita yanks Trish off of the apron and her shirt went along with it. Yikes.

Shane figured that this was a wonderful opportunity for you to get in there. He lightly pushes you forward and that was your cue to get the hell in.

Lita was so busy with trying to beat on Trish that she hadn’t even noticed you jumped over the barricade. You can see her scream at Trish to “get up” as you approach. Her back is toward you. Perfect!

At first, the crowd was confused, but once realizing that you weren’t a fan, they holler and cheers at your appearance, quickly recognizing you from WCW.

“Is that—my god!” JR yells. “That’s [Name], from WCW!”

The crowd seems to get even louder when you yank Lita‘s shoulder and turn her toward you to smash your forearm right in her face.

Trish is looking on in awe, covering herself and scooting backward from the scene. Whoever you were, you kind of saved her?!

“She’s not taking too kindly to Lita right now!” Paul exclaims with laughter in his voice. “Fight, fight, fight!”

Lita doesn’t even get a chance to fight back, you’re moving way too fast.

It’s a little strange to hear the crowd so excited, but you try not to let it distract you as much.

Before you had gotten out of there, you made sure to give Lita a final parting gift. A swift DDT. You throw your arm around her neck and sweep your leg back, before pulling both of you down to the floor. Lita’s head slams into the concrete and you hop up from your spot.

The crowd gives a resound “ooooh” in response. If your DDT was in a box, it’d be wrapped with the prettiest bow anyone has ever seen.

Meanwhile, Trish wants to be thankful to you, this stranger that beat the hell out of Lita. Yet, she’s not sure if she should be feeling so grateful.

Covering herself with her coat, she slowly starts to make her way to the other side of the ring. She doesn’t want any problems with you!

And luckily for Trish, you didn’t have enough time to handle her, so you’ll save it for next show. Just disrupting the match equilibrium is enough.

No one was expecting you at all. You’re following behind the footsteps of people like Lance Storm, Hugh Morrus, and Booker T…..you are officially the fourth star to appear from WCW.

These random occurrences were no coincidence. To the WWF, it just meant man or woman, anyone could get it at any time.

Let it be known that the forbidden door is completely blown off its hinges. There was no longer any boundaries.

You had quickly made your way out before security could retrieve you and Shane had been waiting for you by the barricade. You two made a swift exit, with him encouragingly patting your side as he holds onto you.

Right now, he’s still guiding you out to the limousine with a camera trailing behind you two. The crowd cheers don’t end despite you two getting the hell out of there. You can still hear the noise from the arena.

“Great job, [Name]!” He exclaims. “Bet my father wasn’t expecting that! Now both divisions have something to look out for!” Shane quickly opens the door for you. “Get in!”

You quickly hop into the limo, shuffling in. Shane follows you and closes the door afterwards.

And just like that, it was the start of your WWF journey. You had always wondered if it’ll be like WCW. The backstage environment was sure to be different than this ones.

You suppose there was only one way to find out.

You’re splayed out in the seat of the limo, and though Shane had squished in there with you, he finds it to be a better idea to go sit across from you.

“I haven’t heard people cheer like that for a woman in years!” A bit of an exaggeration, but it still holds true. People made a lot of noise for you.

Your attention is on the ceiling. It still hasn’t set in that the crowd might actually like you. You’re more focused on the fact that you’re actually here in the WWF.

You wouldn’t have ever guessed it. WCW was the place you wanted to be when you started. Years before you debuted, all you did was practice.

Really. Practice, practice, practice. Until you couldn’t move anymore. Your old mentor, Madusa, ensured that you were conditioned enough to be in the ring.

She kept you there for a while. You’d jokingly say that she was holding you hostage, but it ended up being for your benefit. You learned that they would pull the women from the school too early.

Madusa did not want them to make that mistake. She made sure you knew what you were doing before you could go anywhere!

You have to admit though, the training at the power-plant facility wasn’t the best. There were other woman who didn’t exactly know what they were doing. It was easy for them to mess up.

And it’s actually where you met your two close friends, Stacy and Torrie. You were nervous, they were nervous, it’s only inevitable you three would mutter things to one another.

You were more than happy to give them tips on what you knew. From you, they were more than happy to learn. Eventually it grew from only talking in the school to completely hanging out with each other.

It was really nice to finally make some genuine friends.

Shane takes you out of your daydream by holding out a bottle of champagne. “A performance like that deserves some reward! Want some?”

“No, I’m okay.” You shake your head. “But hey, I’m just glad I could get in there!”

Shane thinks you’re downplaying yourself. “Seriously, that was amazing.” He says. “I couldn’t believe it. WWF should know by now there’s one hell of a storm brewing.”

You didn’t realize it at first, but maybe you like this so called “invasion” more than you thought you would.

“You mind if we head to Times Square? I’m due to speak WWF New York.”

Your reply is sluggish. “Yeah, yeah, sure. What is that?”

“It’s mainly a restaurant, but we do some live events there too.” He summarized. 

That quickly reminds you of the WCW Grill in Vegas. You’ve been there many times, whether it to be signing things or just hanging out with other coworkers. 

You lean up from your seat. “WCW had something like that in Vegas! They closed last year though. Bummer, I kinda liked their food. And I think I had a menu item once!”

“Really? Well, I’m sure the WWF’s will be better.” Shane pauses for a second. “I mean, for once. Besides, we’ll be bigger and better. Then you can really get your name on the menu.”

You let out a chuckle. He slipped up a little. “Right.”

”I’m gonna need you for Smackdown too.” Shane says. “You don’t have to worry that much about transportation since we’re staying here for it.”

Oh joy! Seriously! No worrying about catching a flight tonight, that’s less stress on your shoulders. 

“Then I’ll be there.” It’s not like you wouldn’t be anyway.

”While you’re at it, mind asking Torrie if she could attend as well?” He requests you. “I’ve got a great idea for the both of you.”

A great idea, he says. Not like you’ve heard that before. “Color me intrigued, what’s the plan?” 

“I want you ladies to go undercover in the WWF. Somehow, someway. Get as much information as you can from anyone you run into.” He explains. “If anything goes wrong, WCW will protect you. You’ve got my word on that.”

“I believe you. But how should I do that? Just waltz up in there and proclaim I’m one of them now? I just attacked Lita!” You throw your arms out for extra emphasis.

“Relax. Just act like you were misguided. And when you learned that I wasn’t in the right, you want to change your ways. If I were you, I’d apologize to Lita first.”

It was only a six minute drive from MSG to WWF New York. When the limo pulls up, you can hear the sound of the crowd on the outside of it.

The only thing you could do was nod at Shane. It’s go-time.

Leaning up from your spot, you take a second to fix yourself up, fixing your shirt and adjusting your hair so that it’s presentable. Wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea…

Rumors still can circulate, even if you were seen in the ring earlier! The last thing you wanted was for dirt sheets to grasp at straws, with your boss of all people.

Shane gets out first, then takes a second to open the door. He then pulls it open and you are greeted with the crowd on both sides of the sidewalk.

When they turn their heads to see who else was in the vehicle, they cheer over at you. All you can really do is wave with a smile.

Do they really know who you are?

Photographers are at the ready, their bright white lights flashing at you. It makes you squint every time a camera would go off. You just hoped those photos won’t come out bad.

Shane waits for you, offering his arm for you to take while you get out of the car. You happily take it and he ushers you to go inside.

It’s like walking the red carpet, albeit shorter and quicker. You two go in, and you try to look at what they’ve got on display as you walk.

Lots and lots of action figures. You can only look over there for a few seconds, but you do catch a Lita figure on one of the holders.

There’s a lot of others, but you’re not quite sure who they are. Stone Cold Steve Austin? Triple H? Edge? None of those people ring a bell.

As you two approach the steps, there’s only one thing pops into your mind.

…You can’t believe that this place has two floors! So far, it was beating that WCW Grill by a long shot. Upstairs was for merchandise, and as you two go down you assume that the restaurant was around here.

You’re greeted by another large crowd of people and the both of you make your way over toward the stage.

The camera nearby moves over to the both of you.

Shane lets go of your arm and goes to grab a mic from a stagehand. You wait for him by the center of the stage.

Before he says anything, he reaches down toward the crowd to give them high fives. Shane comes back toward you.

“Surprise,” He says. “Well obviously, I’m not Perry Saturn, and she’s not Terri Runnels. But dad, I know you can hear me. It’s your son Shane, how’re you doing?”

The crowd cheers his name and you keep the smile on your face. This place was WWF New York, but before anyone knew it, it could easily become WCW New York.

“You know, the one that owns WCW. The very organization that has you a little heated under the collar. Because WCW continues to infiltrate your WWF.” Shane motions over toward you.

“[Name] made an example out of two women on your roster, and believe me, that won’t be the end of it.”

You nod your head. You’re eager to take these women down, one at a time. You definitely need to make a mental checklist.

Shane continues on. “You see dad, that is done out of necessity. Because in order to build a brand like WCW, we need television exposure. But I’ve gotta give you credit on this because I didn’t think it was possible, through all of your connections you have been able to block WCW from airing on any television network period.”

When he pauses again for a split second, the crowd cheers him.

“Here’s how it’s gonna go down.” He says. “I may not be able to compete with your checkbook but I can compete with your brains. Since you have prevented WCW from airing on any network, it’s now time for WCW to invade the WWF.”

You clap your hands toward him, then try to signal for the crowd to make some noise. They do and you smile. “Thank you!” Although your words were drowned out by the crowd.

“One of the people to lead the charge in one division stands here next to me,” Shane turns to you. “I reckon that she’ll become the next Women’s Champion in no time..”

You hope so. That’s a big step in your career. You were one year too late in getting the WCW Women’s Championship, despite Madusa’s efforts to revive it.

To your surprise, Shane holds out the mic toward you. He must’ve expected you to say something.

You try not to look like a deer in headlights as you take the mic and speak up.

“All I want is to lead WCW to victory. Whatever it takes, I will do…so let this be a warning to the entire women’s division. What I did to Lita was a demonstration of what’s to come. Trust me when I say that no one can stop me, but feel free to try if you want to…that is if you don’t want to end your career early!”

Shane laughs at your words. Hopefully the women (and men if they so dared,) would take heed. You pass the mic back to him.

“Oh, but that’s not all,” He points a finger up. “Might I introduce the second person to lead the charge, I’m sure that you and Stone Cold Steve Austin know this man very well. Ladies and Gentlemen, the WCW Champion, give it up for Booker T!”

As Booker makes his way from behind the curtain with a mic, he throws up his arms.

You watch as he reaches down to high five the fans. After of which, you reach out your own hand for him to shake. He grabs your hand and shakes firmly.

Shane mimics you, shaking his hand as well.

“Last night, at King of the Ring, it was just too easy, no, it was just too damn easy to take you outta the game!” Booker says.

There are mixed reactions at his words, with more cheering than booing from the antsy crowd.

“—And you call yourself the WWF Champion? I respect that, but ask me what I call you. I’m calling you out to let you know that if you want some you can come and get some, because I’m gonna be here at WWF New York, kicking it all night long!”

Shane brought back up his own mic. “I’d like to call this my dream team. These two are going to lead my brand new company to victory. Dad, this is a warning to you.  I’m just here to say that you’re on borrowed time..”

That’s all that was needed to say.

Shane was 100% sure that his father was watching. He’s also sure that he was boiling in anger. It’s exactly what he wanted.

The camera makes sure to get all three of you into frame. It’s up to you, as that’s left was for you and Booker T to apply pressure on the WWF..

After the segment at WWF New York, Shane fortunately allowed you to return to your hotel, but told you to watch the remainder of Raw when you could on the television.

You’re not exactly sure what his plan was, but now you’re curious to see. All you knew is that Booker T was asked to stay and they went off somewhere else while you just left through the back this time.

Just what in the world were they up to?

Shane was nice enough to send you your own limousine after bidding you a good night. Most of your energy had fizzed out and you could tell that his had too.

All you were excited for was to flop onto your bed. You don’t even move the comforters, all you do is just lie down for a few minutes. You’re sure you can move a little later.

There’s a lot of big changes going on in your life right now. You think the first biggest one was Shane McMahon’s entry to WCW and how quickly everyone went on his side.

It’s only fair. It’s the competition, hell, it’s the son OF the competition. Who specifically came in saying that he was against his father.

But what made him so trustworthy anyway? A lot of your coworkers were immediately on his side. You knew WCW was declining, but you never thought everyone else would stoop low enough to side with competition.

At least, not that quickly. The way things were going in the company, it made you feel like you had no choice but to trust him. So far, no betrayals, so everything is going okay so far.

You do get enough energy to at least turn on the television to Raw. You figure it’s only right to honor Shane’s request.

Immediately, you’re greeted by the sight of Shane McMahon heading down the ramp with a pep in his step. His father is not happy to see him at all.

Seeing the brand new WCW logo projected onto the ramp makes you feel…

Well, you don’t know how it makes you feel. You can safely say it makes you feel weird though.

You’re so used to it having an obnoxiously large watermark behind it, with the barely visible text of “World Championship Wrestling”.

Now it’s all small, jagged with the points on each letter. You have to tilt your head slightly in order to see it better.

Eventually, the camera moves away from the ramp and decided to follow Shane who was circling around the ring.

With you being able to hear the commentators properly, you wonder what they had to say about your prior run-in. You should’ve asked someone back at home to tape it!

“WCW does NOT belong in Madison Square Garden!” Paul is almost standing out of his seat by now with all of his screaming. 

“You may be right about that, but—“ Unfortunately, JR isn’t allowed to get one single word out thanks to his partner.

“You’re damn right I’m right! I grew up here, I know these things, I see these things!”

You roll your eyes. Shouldn’t Paul Heyman be worried about his own company instead of everyone else’s?

Oh, wait…

You chuckle to yourself. Thank god no one could hear your thoughts or that you were backstage. That wouldn’t have been good.

Vince is beckoning Shane into the ring, but unbeknownst to him, Booker had hopped right up into the ring, ripping his jacket off in the process.

It’s so over for him! You can’t help but smile. You watch as Booker lays in punches onto him, causing him to stagger backwards.

Booker takes advantage of this and runs toward the ropes, bounces off of them, then lifting one of his legs to give him a scissor kick.

Just to add salt in the wound, he hits a spinaroonie to get off the canvas.

How amazing is this?! You can see the entire WWF locker room run down the ramp but Shane and Booker are way too fast, making their exit.

This obviously must’ve been what Shane wanted you to see. Maybe this means that the ball is back in your court now.

You wonder how you can upstage Booker this time. It’ll definitely be hard since he literally knocked the hell out of the literal CEO of the WWF! Vince McMahon!!

Although, Shane offhandedly mentioned he has a sister who also happens to be in the business. You could always find something to do with her if he allows it.

Are you still buzzing from earlier? You had thought your energy was all gone, but it seemed like there was still bits of adrenaline in your veins.

You had only a few seconds to make your appearance count and from what you can think back on, you did a pretty damn good job.

The sound of the door unlocking makes you snap your head to your right.

“Helloooo!” Torrie sings from the doorway. “[Naaame], are you here? I’ve got Stacy with meee!”

Ah yes, your unofficial roommate for this trip. Torrie Wilson. And Stacy, who insisted that she room with you guys this time.

You think she’s just scared of being alone, which is understandable. But there was no need for her to try and sneak into your bed when she could use the pull out couch!

“I saw you on TV,” Stacy exclaims. “You were great! You really kicked….what’s her name? Ah, who cares?! The crowd was really loud too!”

“Yeah.” Is all you can really say to that. And then you fall back onto your bed, turning away from them and putting your head onto the cold pillow.

The both of them share a look, but Torrie’s the first to question you. She takes a seat next to you on the bed. “What’s your problem tonight? I’m surprised you haven’t called us on that dying Nokia you’ve got. Normally you’d be the one to drag us out after a show.”

Torrie teasing you about your phone was nothing new, but you still take offense anyway!

“I’m holding onto it!” Your words are muffled. “My 1999 phone is getting me places, okay?!”

Stacy takes a seat on the opposite side of you. “Aren’t they making a new one in like November?”

“Are they?” You turn your head so that they can hear you better. “I hope they have other colors. But honestly, I’m tired. Kinda.”

“Kind of?” Stacy repeated. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

You hold up five fingers.  “Five, so just enough to me. I had a flight to catch to get here, so five was really pushing it. I can’t really tell if this schedule’s gonna be worse than our old one.”

“Oh, you poor thing!” Torrie exclaimed, rubbing her hand on your back. “You’re right, but with Shane McMahon being our boss, I’ve gotten more sleep than I would normally! But that’s pretty bad to say, huh?”

“Yes,” You mumble. “Yes it is.” She just haaad to rub it in your face.

“Listen, I don’t think we have to be at the next show—“ 

You quickly interrupt Torrie. “About that, Shane wanted me to ask you to be at Smackdown. He didn’t say anything about Stacy this time.”

It makes Stacy cheer. “Yay! I get to relax aallll day tomorrow. You know what? [Name], I saw this really cute top at Delia’s  earlier today. Now I can go back and buy it for you!”

“Was it that crop top with all those safety pins on the side?” Torrie turns over to Stacy. “If it was, that one totally screamed [Name].”

”YES!” She exclaimed. “That’s exactly the one I’m talking about!”

”From the sound of it, it sounds like I’m gonna have to have a lot of trust in that top.” You say. “And when did you guys go shopping??”

”Earlier. See, they said they needed us.” Torrie removes her hand from your back. “Then I guess they changed their minds since they had you?” It’s the only logical explanation she comes up with.

Whatever, it’s really no big deal. ”Well, you’re gonna be needed tomorrow anyway. And Stacy, I’m sure they’re gonna ask you to show up again. People went crazy! It would be bad if we just left you two in New York.” 

“I wouldn’t mind at all!” Stacy finally decides to take a seat too. “Times Square is beautiful! If I could, I’d totally live here.”

“I saw a rat walking down the street with pizza.” You comment. “And you’d stay here. Crazy, crazy, girl.” 

Stacy definitely rethinks it. “…Well, now that you say that, shopping only!”

“Hold on a second, it had pizza?!” Torrie exclaims.

It’s gonna be a long, long night, that’s for sure.

Chapter Text

June 28th, 2001

THURSDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

Madison Square Garden, New York

All of you had heard the announcement of Invasion just this morning. Supposedly, you and your team would fight the WWF next month, culminating in a winner-takes-all match.

You figure Shane was making his calls to let everyone know. You wouldn't be surprised if you were the first to know it, but it's unbelievable. Is the WWF challenging you guys? The answer is yes, but you know they will lose that battle.

This may have been the beginning of the end for that company, and nothing brings you more joy than seeing it crumble beneath your feet. Vince must've felt incredibly pressured by WCW. Dare you say, he felt threatened if he was going as far as making an entire show dedicated to this.

Supposedly, no one knew the entire card yet. The only thing Shane knew was that one of those matches would be Team WWF vs. Team WCW and that he needed extra time to prep everyone for it.

There's an inevitable group meeting to be called; you're sure of it. You don't mind being there one bit. You have to ensure your fellow wrestlers are pumped up with a pep talk before going out there.

Hell, you might even have your own match! So exciting. The only person you could think of them pitting you against is Lita, which you didn't mind at all.

"[Name], your hands are shaking."

Torrie's speaking pulls you out of your thoughts, and you bring up your hands to look at them.

You are shaking, and you find it incredibly hard to stop, as much as you try to will your body to.

"Ooh, you are!" She exclaims, looking over you again. "Like, really bad."

The black leathery couch creaks as you shift in your spot. You two were hanging out backstage at the next show, just as Shane requested.

There's gotta be something else you could do instead of sitting around like this. You wish you could run some interference, but as of tonight, you're trying to get into Team WWF's good graces.

You grimace at the thought. That is NOT your company, nor will it ever be. It even feels wrong to think that you belong to them.

You try to twist and turn one of your hands, but you're still jittering. "Sorry." You quickly apologize. "No idea why I can't stop."

When Torrie says absolutely nothing, you turn over to her. It's like she's examining you, but the awed look on her face is starting to agitate you.

She exhaled sharply and pointed a finger at you with a smile. "I get it now! You're nervous!" She exclaims.

"No," You're quickly denying it. "I'm cold, that's all. There's a draft in this room. I don't know how you're not cold with what you're wearing." You motion to her red jumpsuit cut in possibly the most revealing way ever.

"What's wrong with this?" She asks, looking down at herself. "If we want to get contracts, we'll have to make some sacrifices."

The first thing you say is: "…Ew." And although you mutter out an apology, you still find the implication gross.

 "Anyway," Torrie moves on. "You know there's nothing to worry about. Shane has everything under control!"

"Under control?" You jump out of your seat. "Invasion is next month! We have no idea what they're gonna put on the card. I don't think any of us has control over it, WWF does!"

Whenever you get wound up like that, Torrie would always back off to let you cool off. You'd generally sort it by your lonesome. But with how you're acting this go-around, it seemed like you need her intervention today.

"It's okay! That's why we're here." She reminded. She stands up to look you right in the eye. "To figure out what they're up to."

At first, you don't say anything. All you do is look back at Torrie. She gives you an expectant look, and you suck your teeth in response.

"I know." You say. "It's—"

You two are startled by the door slamming open, nearly falling off its hinges. You can hear Vince McMahon's voice from the outside, which makes you stand on guard.

Two men enter the room instead. They look around, turn the room upside down, move chairs, and look behind some plants.

Could Vince not come in himself? Too cowardly to come in? What a pansy.

A camera follows in right behind them, and you get the notion that you're on live TV. You can't hear it, but the crowd cheers at you and Torrie's appearance.

Torrie instinctively hides behind you. In turn, you do your best to stand strong. You try not to show your nervousness, crossing your arms so that you can hide your hands.

The two men in here were still turning the entire room upside down in search of something. You're not happy that these guys are ruining your "unassigned-assigned" room.

"Excuse me! Are you looking for something?" You finally say.

They freeze in tandem, and one looks at you in realization. They didn't care about your presence at all, huh? "Get in here!" One of the men yells out. "That's the girl with Booker T!"

With those words, Vince McMahon himself storms right into the room. You push Torrie even further behind you when he enters.

"Where the hell is Booker T?!" He gives the room a once over and then turns toward you. "You! You would know! Where is he?!"

"…. He's not here." You answer. The sound of shuffling makes you turn your head to the right. One of the men decided to toss your bag across the floor. "Hey! Watch it, that's mine! What the hell is wrong with you?" 

He slowly turns around. "What?"

"You heard me! "Whoever this guy was, your patience was already running thin. "Don't you have any manners? Pick it up!"

"I'm not picking that damn thing up." He says. Now that you get a better look at him, he looks exactly like the figure you saw at WWF New York.

If your memory serves you correctly, this is Stone Cold Steve Austin. Who just threw your very expensive bag on the floor?

The other guy with medals around his neck leans down and picks it up instead. "Here you go." He reaches it out toward you.

"Kurt, what the hell are you doing?!" He yelled. "She's a WCW girl! You [Name]?"

"Oh." Kurt falters, then drops your bag right onto the floor. Again.

"That's me, yeah." Though you confirm your identity, you feel exasperated. The crowd can't help but laugh. "…Please." You beg. "STOP DROPPING MY BAG." You kneel to pick it up and gently place it on the couch behind you. This time, they won't throw it around as if it had no value.

After that whole debacle, the question remains. "Well, where is he?" Vince asks. You narrow your eyes at him.

It takes everything, and you mean everything, not to insult him. It's all too easy to beat everyone up with a makeshift weapon and leave with Torrie for the rest of the night.

"You didn't hear me before? I said, I don't know." You repeat. "Maybe you should open up your ears, ol—"

"W-We don't know, Mr. McMahon!" Torrie cuts you off quickly. It's for the best. "You see, we're so glad you came here. Our contracts are expiring, and we were looking for something new."

You're sure that they were suspicious. After you attacked Lita, you weren't sure they'd go through with her idea. Torrie, sure. You already know she'll get in because she wasn't guilty, and newsflash: she's also attractive.

You, you're not sure. Obviously, you're attractive, but you may have ruined your chance by jumping on Lita like that. You decide to decorate your white lie with another.

"I just don't want to be a leader. I was told to do that to Lita, and I feel horrible. I don't want to be involved with WCW." You kick up your act to 100 by forcing tears to spring to your eyes, which sells it more. "Shane may even fire me for talking to you…"

"That's what you get when you deal with those classless WCW folk," Kurt snidely remarked, shaking his head. "Am I right, fellas?"

Vince and Austin look at each other for a moment, then nod their heads. Then, Kurt turns to you with his hand out.

"Hi, [Name]. Nice to meet you. I'm Kurt Angle, Olympic gold medalist." He reaches his hand out for you to shake, and you use your non-wet hand to shake it. Sorry about your bag." 

Guess an apology is a good way to start.

"Hello. It's fine." You shake his hand quickly and then return to your sob story. "I guess you're right. That company is classless." 

Torrie rubs your shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay, [Name]." She then turns to Vince. "Will you consider it?"

He's still not convinced. "And you are…..?"

She fills in the blank for him. "Torrie Wilson. From WCW. We would be so honored to work with you."

'We?' You think. Torrie must've been taking French classes. 

Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Seeing as no one's jumping out at them, all three men relax at her words.

"I might be able to tell you where I think he is." When you say that, all three men perk up toward you.

Torrie looks alarmed but quickly calms down in fear of getting caught. You try to reassure her by patting the hand she kept on your shoulder.

"My only request is that you consider hiring us when our contracts go down the drain."

Honestly, you don't know where Booker T is, but you still try to compromise to get in good with them.

"Alright then. I'll do it. But Torrie, it's good to meet you. Very, very good." Vince was clearly trying to make moves on your blonde friend. "Maybe this weekend, dinner?"

Before Torrie can respond, you're quick to answer him. " We," You emphasize, "—can meet you at the show. No dinner, sorry. I don't think we'll be hungry."

Austin is pleased to hear it. "That sounds good. We don't need her. Then we'll go to dinner, Vince. I'll clear my schedule."

Kurt immediately jumps on the bandwagon. "Me too. I'll be there."

Austin shakes his head. "…We don't need you."

You clear your throat, making everyone look at you. "If you wanna know, I'm 99% sure Booker T is somewhere in the locker rooms. He could be looking for you guys like you're looking for him."

You can see them get all hyped up at your reveal, so you hope that was the push so they can get the fuck out of here.

Kurt is the only one who thanks you; he mutters it while vigorously shaking your hand one last time.

And thankfully, it was the push. They weren't sticking around for too long. At the very least, the three bid you and Torrie a quick goodnight and bolted out the door.

It must be important to find him. It's too bad you pointed them in the wrong direction. You knew that he wasn't anywhere near the stadium yet.

The more they looked, the more they wouldn't expect his appearance. They'll think he's not there at all, and the next time they're defenseless…WHAM! They won't see it coming!

God, you need to find a way to top that. Booker T is beating you in that department! You pray that Shane wouldn't actually get rid of you because you weren't performing up to standard.

You've got this. All you have to do is start plotting in your hotel room. You won't ask Shane what he thinks should be done. You'll spring the idea on him instead.

You wipe the crocodile tears, swiping a few fingers under your eye to not smudge the makeup you had on. Torrie walks over to the door and peeks out to ensure they're gone. She gently closes the door behind her afterward.

"When they came in, you looked like you were about to scream." She says.

You snicker. "I wish I could tell you how uncomfortable that entire exchange made me. Starting from pretending I'm something I'm not to that McMahon being around making me gag."

"I could've handled it myself." She starts. "But I still appreciate you saying something. We definitely wouldn't have gotten those contracts if you said anything more than that."

Yes, sometimes you could say some crazy things, but it's not always your intention to! Things tend to slip out of your mouth. You're just speaking your truth…

People have told you before that you like to speak about what's on your mind. Whether that was bad or good was always left to your interpretation.

"Pretty much. Anyway, we should split up." You suggest. "I'm going to try to apologize to Lita. Maybe I can find other people in the meantime."

"Oooh, you're finally deciding to make friends! Now you don't need to bother me and Stacy anymore." Torrie teased.

"I'm not gonna be friends with anyone in here!" You clarify. Seriously, you wouldn't be caught dead hanging with someone from here. "Besides, you guys love me and would get jealous of seeing me with anyone else."

She smiles at you. "Hmm, we get jealous? I'll have to get back to you on that."

You try to stay in your itty bitty circle for the most part, but you have no qualms about hanging out with coworkers.

Now, people from the WWF? No way. You don't think they could replicate the charm that the others had. Sure, people like Sting would stare creepily at you as you played chess. That was neat, but you can't beat him to this day!

You learn things, too. People like Randy Savage would yell at you and tell you to raise your voice to present yourself better. Fun!

And then you had people like Mona, who was friendly and calm. She's given you advice many times. It was a change of pace from the energetic characters you surrounded yourself with. 

You think there's no competition.

You move past Torrie and open the door, peaking your head down the hallway. There is someone not too far away. It's not Kurt, Vince, or Austin. It's someone else.

He's blonde, and he's holding something almost obnoxiously large. From this distance, it's safe to assume it's a trophy.

You retreat into the room. "And just like that, I already see my first target. How about I meet you back here when the show's over?"

"Fine with me." She agreed. "You know, I saw a Friday's on Time Square. Do you want to go after the show? Oh, oh, and who was it at the door?"

"I don't see why not." You don't mind hanging out. Not one bit. "And I think you're asking the wrong person. I can tell he's not a part of our team. He was blonde, and I think he was holding a trophy. No clue who that is. I need Shane to run me down on these people. I only know Trish, Lita, Matt, and the Big Show from him. I think I know the commentators, too?"

Shane was only telling you important information, so you figured these other randoms were less important to be known by you.

"Oooh, he's blonde?" Torrie's got that knowing sound in her voice, and you groan. "That's totally your type, [Name]. Everyone backstage used to say that you loved the blondes."

You look at her incredulously. "You're joking." Because she had to be. Who would even say that? It's not your fault that 80% of your friends had that hair color.

"Hehe. Yeah, I am. Wait, come here! If you want his attention, you've gotta oil up the good bits! Also, I think you need to wear something else!" Torrie exclaimed, dashing over to her bag.

Nuh-uh. No way. Not this time. She will NOT make you her Barbie doll again. You let the woman recommend clothes to you once and now she thinks she's your stylist!

"Torrie, what the hell do you mean oil up?! Leave me alone!" You exclaim. "I've gotta get this guy before he leaves!"

She's got the bottle in her hands, shooting you a pout. "Fine. But can't you lift your shirt just a little so that—"

"If you say anything else, I swear to god I will get you." You threaten, pointing a finger at her.

She backs off, holding her hands up to you. "Touchy!"

Saying nothing else to her, you open the door and walk down the hallway to approach this stranger.

You remember to keep a puzzled look on your face, then look around the room, all confused. The more ditzy you act, the more men will feel inclined to help you.

You let out an aggravated sigh, which is the one thing that caught his attention. He shifts the trophy in his hand to take a better look at you and then takes a few steps back in alarm.

"Woah, rogue WCW woman spotted. Don't attack me." He says. "I'm armed." He holds out the trophy to you warily, then pokes your stomach with one of the tiny metal prongs of the trophy.

"Ow—not a threat!" As plastic as those prongs were, they hurt like hell.  You feign panic, throwing your hands up. "I'm not a threat. I was just looking for someone! I want to tell Lita I'm sorry. Have you seen her?"

He's not sold at all, considering you cracked her head open the other day. "You want to say you're sorry? Listen, I don't care how tempting you are, I won't fall for whatever you've got going on. You're gonna try and take her out!"

This guy may have got the wrong idea. You're not into seducing him. Not yet, anyway.

"Thank you," You accept the compliment. "I, and probably you, have no idea what you're going on about." He may be in his head about you. "I'm only here to make amends because my contract may expire. I'll be out of work and out of a leader spot in no time."

They'd have to pry you from Shane's cold, dead hands. You don't have a choice but to hold onto the lie that your contract is ending soon.

"That sucks." He outright says, using a hand to comb through the top of his hair. "Uh, I mean, I'm sorry to hear that." He genuinely did seem apologetic, so he may be falling for it.

You’re still trying to be nice. "I'm [Name], but with you knowing what I did to Lita, you might already know."

"Yeah," He nods. "People've been talking about you beating up Lita. They're wondering what they're gonna do now. You're kinda gutsy for even showing up tonight. I'm Edge." He feels it's only fitting for him to introduce himself back, but it's easy to see that he's hesitant.

You smile anyway. Your following words are honeyed when you speak them. "Hi, Edge. Good to meet you. I'm gonna remind you that I mean no harm, seriously. After I talk to Lita, I'll even leave the arena. Are you sure you don't know where she is?"

"Lita.." Edge repeats, looking away from you for a second. "She might be with the Hardy Boys. I'm pretty sure."

It's part of a confession, making you think he had been holding back due to his suspicion.

"Hardy Boys, huh? Ah, do you know where catering is?" You ask. "I got so lost, completely forgot how big the Garden is." It's an exaggeration, but you should get some directions while you're at it.

…This is partly because you're hungry too.

Will the WWF's food hold its own against WCW catering? You need to put it to the test. You won't lie; your company had some of the best food by far.

It's not like you could put anything else to the test anyway. You hadn't even gotten a chance to get started on those local circuits because you took the chance and signed up for the Powerplant instead. It may have been too early, but it's gotten you far enough to be handed that beautiful contract.

It's not like you minded, you practically grew up watching it with relatives. Calling home with the exciting news was returned with happiness and playful jealousy.

Edge turns and points down the hallway. "Should it be that way to your left? Could be wrong, so don't come back trying to attack me."

You wave him off. "I won't. I think I'll give you a suplex. How does that sound to you?"

"I think I'd be the one doing that to you, [Name]." He countered. "You look pretty easy to carry."

"Edge! Been lookin' for you, man. Where'd you go?" Another voice makes you turn around to see yet another blonde man with goggles approaching you, and you fight the urge to throw your arms up in exasperation.

Maybe Torrie was right. You're not beating the blonde-lover allegations. You're losing… she's winning!! You hate it!

He looks over toward you, eyeing you up and down. Then he comes closer to Edge, muttering something else. "Who's that?"

"[Name], this is Christian, my brother." Edge introduces. "Christian, this is [Name]."

Brother, huh?

Christian looks between the two of you incredulously, then settles his eyes on Edge. "Wait, this is the chick that—"

The both of you say the end at the very same time. "…smashed Lita's head into the ground." You already knew it was coming. "Yes. That's me."

"Guess it's obvious then." He snickered.

"I may have done it, but it wasn't my intention." For a second, you pause because it was. There's no way it was just a freak accident. "It wasn't my intention to make her my enemy." You correct. "All I wanted to do was say sorry about it. It was all a misunderstanding on my end. Maybe we can work together against WCW."

You're trying your best to present yourself as a charity case towards them, and they, along with the others, are taking the easy bait.

He's not as apologetic as Edge was, but Christian still shakes his finger at you. "Work together, eh? You know what? She could help us, Edge. Those Hardy's, you know we've been feuding since 1999."

He then turns to you. "[Name], it's a big thing."

"What was the last time we won, last month?" Edge asks.

Christian takes a second to think about it and then replies. "Yeah, man. It was us and Rhyno. Eddie tagged along with them. Then we lost to him and Jeff. Remember?"

"Yep. Something happened every time." Edge reminisces about those matches. "We won that first one, sure, but Lita kept getting in the way."

"Exactly." Christian's leading up to something with this. "I hate to say it, but they've got us beat, man. We never got someone to deal with Lita, and she's done that hurricanrana crap to both of us! That's what usually messes us up." Christian continued to explain.

"If we have her…" Edge vigorously nods his head, waving his finger back at him. "I see where you're going with this man."

This was perfect! You swear you'd kiss Christian if you could. He's got you right where you need to be for the most part. A smile grows on Edge's face. "She can get rid of Lita! Dude, you're like, genius level of genius."

Genius level of genius? That’s original.

Christian takes that trophy out of Edge's hands for some reason. He snugly adjusts it in his arms, holding it as if he wouldn't let go.

Neither you nor Edge question it; they are more interested in getting rid of those Hardy Boys once and for all.

Well, you're only partly in on their fantasy. You had no idea how their feud went! The only question you have to ask is, "Are you guys going to be able to get us on the card for that?"

"You don't have to worry about that, [Name]. As the King of the Ring winner, I'll make sure it gets done!" Edge exclaims.

Aha! No wonder he had that trophy. It makes sense, but you're not sure how big of an achievement it was. As long as it got you on the card, you're good.

"Commissioner Regal is a real pain. Are you sure you're gonna be able to do it, dude?" Christian asks. "You know, it's always the Brits. He acts like he's got a stick up his ass."

"Don't worry about it. Me and you will go into his office." Edge pats his shoulder. "We'll get that match in no time."

You're down. "Okay then. You guys tell me when we go. I'll be ready. Edge, you said catering was down that way, right?"

He gives you a thumbs up, and you say goodbye. Maybe you'll see them more in the future, especially since you're teaming up now.

You turn your head behind you and see they're still watching you go. You decide to give them one final wave for real. Before you get to catering, you wait until you're a reasonable distance to pull out your phone and dial Shane up.

It's a quick detour, hitting a sharp left in the hallway. You're met with another room nearby, a gift from whatever god was out there, the janitor's closet.

It would be better to finish the call there, wouldn't it? No curious eyes, no listeners. It'll just be you. 

Your paranoia starts to spike because you're already peeking around the corner to see if anyone's there. The coast may be clear, but you won't take your chances. Closet it is.

You've already got your phone in your hand as you open the door. The only thing that would keep you company now were the cleaning supplies lined up on the shelves. 

You're already dialing Shane up once you close the door behind you. Most of your paranoia has subsided after closing it, and you keep your hand on the doorknob to ensure that no one else opens it to interrupt you.

Your back is turned, but what more should you be afraid of? Those mops and brooms? If anyone saw you going in, you'd say you needed some fresh air alone. Something like that.

"I wasn't expecting any company."

"My god!" You instinctively yell, jumping out of your skin. Goddamn it! Why would anyone be in the dark, in the janitor's closet of all places?! Your hand reaches for the light switch, flipping it on as soon as your fingers land on it. 

Just your luck. You walk into a squatter's home. You turn behind you to see a man sitting before you, slumped over with his curly hair falling in front of his eyes. "[Name], isn't it?"

Your hand is still on the doorknob. Would it be wrong to say you don't think you can leave yet? He knows your name. You're still alert. "Um, maybe. Why in the hell are you in here alone?" Other than being a total creep.

"Doing drugs. You want?"

He offers it to you so casually! You're taken aback, and it takes you a minute to reply. "No!"

"Relax, I'm joking. I don’t do drugs. You're not a cop, are you? All I am here for is the silence. It's the only thing I can ever find peace of mind in." He says. 

You look at him and nod. "Right. Yeah. Okay. Well, this was all an accident. I have a really important call, so I'm gonna have to leave. Although a word of advice, maybe some pink would be good for your decor."

You're turning away from him, but he's saying something else the next thing you know.

"WCW shouldn't be alone in this fight. We need to take this company down. The WWF is fated to fall."

He makes you turn back around curiously. This may not be a squatter after all; he knows about WCW.

"Who exactly are you?"

As soon as you ask that question, the phone picks up. Shane's voice is loudly on the speaker, "Hello, [Name]? Are you alright?"

You immediately hold the phone to your ear. "What? Yeah. I'm fine. Can I call you back?"

"It's good to know it’s actually your name," the man says, setting his hands on his ankles to stand up from his spot. "Don't hang up now. The show's just starting." He comes closer to you, and you're already trying to hit buttons on your phone for some privacy.

"Don't suppose that's Shane McMahon on the phone? Let me talk to him. We're close. Real close." There's supposed to be excitement in his voice, yet it's delivered to you in the most monotone way possible.

"No, you can't talk to him! I mean, it's not Shane!" You try to cover your tracks, holding out your hand to him. "I have to go, so go do your drugs or whatever you were up to."

He doesn't leave you alone, instead reaching over and snatching the phone out of your hands. He lifts the phone in the air so you can't reach it, then turns away.

"Shane, can you hear me?" He asks, pulling the phone closer to his mouth. "Remember me?"

There's silence at first, and then Shane's voice comes from the phone. "Oh! Hey, Scotty! How're you doing?" You're in complete disbelief.

"You know this guy?!" You exclaim. "Shane, are you pranking me right now?!"

"I don't go by that anymore. It's Raven now. I'll be the first to tell you that ECW wants in. We've seen what's been going on."

"ECW as in Extreme Championship Wrestling?" Do they really want in? Any help is good, and it'd be two against one. You're not entirely against the idea. "Wait, give me my phone back! This isn't for you!"

"You're with [Name] right now?"

"Yeah. She's pretty aggressive. It goes to show what kind of women you surround yourself with, Shane." He comments.

"Who in the world told you that?" You ask, ignoring his snide remark. "Are you ECW's leader or something? I bet you don't have as much authority as I do."

"Okay, okay. There's no need to fight, guys." Shane is trying to be a peacemaker, doing his best to ease any tension. "Raven, if you can clue Paul Heyman in, we can discuss this in more detail in person. My invitation is extended to you, but I need to speak with [Name] for now. We can't proceed unless I talk with her first."

Thank god Shane was on your side. You can't fight the cheeky smile as you expectantly hold your hand out.

"Fine. I'll be the person to spread the message to him. The sooner, the better. Besides, no one wants to keep this outdated Nokia anyway." The sarcasm in his voice is the first emotion you've heard from him.

And you groan in response. For the love of god! Everyone needs to leave the Nokia alone! Raven begrudgingly hands it over and turns over to the door.

You'd think he'd say something else to you, but he only gives you one last glance before leaving.

"And stay out!" You yell behind him, slamming your palm onto the door.

"It's a pleasure to hear your voice, [Name]," Shane says. "I'm assuming you didn't just call me for some casual conversation before you were interrupted. What's going on?”

"Right, right. Before, I was so rudely interrupted." You say. "I ran into this guy Edge and his brother, Christian. They wanted me to team up with them to get rid of Lita. I figured it was a good opportunity to get myself out there. I'm also on my way to apologize to her after I finish talking to you. Is that alright?"

"Is what alright? You apologizing? I was the one that recommended you should—"

"No, no, that I'm even here. You called me a part of your dream team. Torrie told them our contracts were expiring soon. I played off that, but any smart person wouldn't get rid of their leader that fast. I don't want them to doubt me." At the end, you let out a sharp sigh.

Thanks to your explanations, no one's questioning you, but it's pretty easy to get caught up in a lie you tell.

"You worry a lot!" He laughs again, and you furrow your brows. "It'll be fine. A lot of those wrestlers aren't smarter than a bag of rocks. Trust me, I know this for a fact. My father's not any smarter. He has no idea what's coming to him, especially with ECW possibly helping us."

Talk about throwing people under the bus. It seems Shane's pretty relentless when it comes to his old employees. You're just glad you're not on the receiving end. Shane's been here longer than you, so you have no choice but to believe him.

However, you still feel hesitant. "Are you really sure?"

"How about this, then. I keep Torrie so she and Stacy can feud with Trish and Lita; you continue to play nice with the WWF since you're already there. You let them think that you're working your way to betray us when, in actuality, you're going to betray them."

Keeping Torrie after she told them that your contracts were expiring? That would be risky, along with you slotting into the roster. But you'll try and conform to it. "Okay, okay." You agree. "I think I can do that."

"Have some faith in me." It's like he can sense your hesitation. "More importantly, have some faith in yourself, [Name]. Was that all?"

The only thing you can do is try. "Yeah, I'll talk to you when I hear anything new."

"Alright then, you take care, [Name]."

Ending the call with those final words, you shove your phone back into your pocket. As much as you want to take a second to breathe, Lita's the next person on your list.

Opening the closet door, you head straight towards the double doors of catering. Oh boy, you hope Lita's in here. If not, you'll have to continue your journey elsewhere. You don't have all night, though.

You're met with a few unfamiliar faces when you open the door. They stare at you in confusion, which quickly turns into alarm. Some people even stand up from their seats.

You come in peace, for now! "Everyone can relax. I want to be on your side now. I came to apologize." You don't even beat around the bush.

Most are suspicious but still get back into their seats. What were they going to do anyway? You could defend yourself with one of these chairs if you needed to.

Scanning the room, you find the woman of the hour looking at you with wide eyes. You immediately approach her. A relieved smile appears on your face as your searching is no longer needed, tossing out your arms. "Lita!"

Just as you call her name, two men protectively stand before her. The only one you knew was Matt, although the other guy had a striking resemblance to him. Siblings, perhaps?

Matt was the one that had enough gall to get in your face. "You've got a lot of nerve showin' up here," Matt started, waving his finger at you. The southern twang in his voice almost makes you giggle. It's so out there.

You do your best to cover it by looking sad instead. "Tell me something I don't know. Sorry, but losing was your fault, though." That's one thing you had to make clear. "Tell me, was it nice when Trish kissed you? Did you even try to push her away?"

You pucker your lips toward him and kiss the air as he huffs at you. Matt is frustrated at your taunt and clenches his fist. What you say is true; you and Lita had your own business. Whatever he did in the ring was his responsibility.

Didn't mean you could tease him so freely about it, though.

He's going to say something else to you, but Lita shakes her head, getting up from her seat and stepping in front of him instead. "No, Matt. Just leave it. It's okay." And then she looks at you directly. "You must be really brave to show up here after what you did, or maybe you're just stupid."

It's the second time you've heard that tonight..

"Never stupid." You'd like to get that straight now. "Only apologetic." And for her to even say that makes you sure about your decision. You're glad you beat her up on Raw.

"I thought attacking you would prove my allegiance to Shane. He ordered it. I did it, but I see how wrong it is and how fucked up WCW is. After thinking about what I did to you, I wanted to come to this show and make things right."

It seems like you're taking a breath when, in actuality, you're trying to get your lies together. "I was sad and idling the halls. I want WCW to crash and burn. I have my allegiance and want it to be with all of you." You make sure to say it loudly enough so others can hear you.

"Well, I don't think any of us trust you." Matt cut in. "Something's not right about you."

"Matt, give the woman a break." The other guy says. "She's tryin' to help us. She apologized for what she did. I'm sure we've made some mistakes, so we could try and give her some credit."

Whoever this guy was with brightly dyed purple hair, you're glad he stepped in. You make a mental note to remember his face if he never introduced himself to you.

No, you won't let that happen. The only person you extend your hand to is him, although your proper introduction is meant for all of them. "I think we should get off on the right foot now. I'm [Name]. I want to be on your side now."

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Lita and Matt share some telepathic looks. All you did was introduce yourself to him!

He reaches out his hand. "Jeff."

Matt's the one who brings Jeff back to Earth, smacking his shoulder. It makes Jeff retract his hand before you can even take it. "The hell are you doin'?! We can't trust her!" It's a whispered shout that you're in clear range of hearing, not that Matt cared.

Jeff shrugs at him, then holds his hands up. "I thought…”

"Hardy meeting," He points toward the door, sounding as stern as they come. "Right now. Lita, you do what you need to do with her."

Jeff slunks over to the door, and Matt is just about to follow, but Lita gives him a parting kiss before he goes. She mutters, "I love you," but Matt's already storming off to deal with Jeff to even reply.

"So, you two are an item after all. It wasn't just jealousy." You comment. The urge to make another Trish jab was strong, but by divine intervention, you didn't say it.

"Yeah. A year, now." She confirms.

That information goes right into the filing cabinet. You give a half-smile to her. "All of you are friends then?"

It's a bit tense between you two, but Lita replies anyway, albeit strained. "Yeah, uh, we're a team. They're brothers. Matt's the oldest."

It makes sense. They looked similar, and Matt used that authoritative tone when telling Jeff to go outside.

Either way, you decide to jump straight to the chase. "I'm gonna take this chance to clear the air while it's just me and you. Lita, I was being honest when I said I wanted to take WCW out. I've gotten so close to Shane McMahon that it would be a shame for all of us to waste this opportunity. Even out of all this, I want a friendly rivalry from you at most."

Friendly, yes, that's what you wanted. It's not like you'll stiff her in the ring or anything.

"Like they always say, it's just business, you know? No hard feelings."

Lita takes a minute to think about it, turning her head away from you and then turning back. "You know what? Fine. No hard feelings. I'll give you another chance, [Name]. But if you screw up again, I can't guarantee that I won't fight you about it."

"That is totally fine. Trust me, I won't mess up again. I'll be there to help you when our goals align." Your professional tone was leaking out...

This is partly thanks to the many creative meetings and other ventures you've had at WCW. Reassurance and composure are two ways to worm your way inside a company. "Is the food any good here, by the way?"

And you can understand if Lita doesn't fully trust you. If you were in her position, you wouldn't trust yourself either.

Lita shrugs. "I mean, yeah. It's alright, I guess. You'd have to try it yourself." You still do think she believes you, despite her dry responses. It's just more progess you need to make.

"Oh my gosh, [Name], right?"

Lita groans and tosses her head up toward the ceiling. Whoever said your name, Lita wasn't happy to see them.

You turn your head over to see Trish. "Could I have a moment?" She clasps her hands together.

It's like Lita gives you the same look she gave Matt, trying to tell you something without using her words. It's difficult for you to understand, so she instead decides to leave you two be.

"Do whatever the hell you want. She's all yours." She'll probably join that Hardy meeting if they're still out there.

The both of you watch her go, and once she's out, Trish gives you her undivided attention. "Lita's always been...catty. I mean, she's been bullying me since my debut! How crueler can you get? I don't understand why she doesn't like me. And here I am, trying to let creative put us together in case we have to go against WCW. Not you now, of course."

"Stacy Keibler. Torrie Wilson." You offer up their names. "Only two they'll probably pit you against. They're all they have now."

On another note, you're trying to understand why Lita disliked Trish that much. Well, it's obvious why she didn't like you, but that's only because you did something to provoke her into it.

As you recall, Trish did end up kissing Matt. It all makes sense now, Lita looking pissed about it as she retaliated. They're an item! It's no wonder Lita wants her out.

You'll let Trish figure out that part by herself some time. "Guess you've gotta get to know her a little better. You're Trish, right?"

"That's me. I'm glad I caught you. I wanted to say thank you. Lita was gonna rough me up some more if you didn't step in when you did." Her fingers move a few strands of hair out of her face. "I feel like I owe you. What do you say to lunch next Wednesday?"

Lunch with Trish? Looks like you're already getting in good with these superstars! "Fine with me."

"I'm sorry about Shane McMahon, by the way." She adds. "We need all the help we can get, and you deserve this spot. Guess all McMahon's are pigs."

All? Like, all of them? Not Shane, at least. Shane's been nothing but pleasant and respectful to you. Unlike your previous boss, Eric Bischoff, who you were sure hated your guts with the way he treated you.

"Oh yeah, probably. I wouldn't be surprised. Even my old boss was a sleazeball." You mention.

You always thought he preferred Stacy to you when booked in certain segments. You and "Miss Hancock" were always set together when possible, but she was always going over most of the time.

At first, you had a time when you resented Stacy, putting a strain on your relationship for months. But you slowly came to terms with the fact that it was never her fault. It was management. You'd bring up your problems to Eric, and he'd dangle your contract over your head. He was quick to tell you that you didn't have to stay. Could head back right to your hotel.

That's something you don't miss.

"Then I guess we've both had some problems with our bosses, huh?" Trish mused. "It's not a very good thing, but it makes me feel better to know I'm not alone."

You're not sure what history she's had with Vince McMahon, but if she was comparing her situation to your own, then she's definitely seen some shit. You'll have to ask her about it over lunch.

Honestly, you're happy she was so sweet. Considering you saved her skin, it was fair, but hospitality goes a long way for you right now.

"Did you want to sit with me? I've got an extra seat right next to me." She uses both of her thumbs to point to her left.

"I don't see why not," You smile. Let me get something to eat first." You're already sauntering off towards the table of different foods as you hear her say, "I'll just be over here then."

You have no idea where to start. To distract yourself for only five seconds, you grab a plate. Then you're already back to square one. What do you want to eat?!

Fruit, muffins, salad, you name it, they've got it. Everything looks appealing, and it's damn near stressing you out.

You make a mental apology to Trish because you're definitely going to be here for quite a while.

Chapter Text

July 2nd, 2001

MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Tacoma Dome, Washington

“I’m glad you could join us, [Name].” Regal actually sounded relieved to see you walk through the door. “Though…” He peers down at his watch and then looks back up at you. “You’re about 10 minutes late, young lady.”

His scolding tone makes you grimace. “Sorry.” You mutter out, keeping your hand on the doorknob.

It wasn’t your intention to actually be late, the stupid rental car ended up stalling and you had to get it towed. Cheap ass New York. You ended up getting a taxi to the airport, then immediately after landing in Seattle, begged the workers at Seattle-Tacoma International to give you a rental last minute.

You couldn’t even use the excuse of “do you know who I am,”  you were completely at their mercy until they relented and gave you a rental, one that you were required to return within 24 hours. Fine, whatever. You could do that.

As soon as you hit the doors of the arena, one of the producers immediately told you to visit Regal’s office. They’re running a bit behind schedule and need you in the room because it’s live, something like that. They rushed you so much that you could barely grasp what they said.

Guess everything’s messed up today.

And here you are, apologetic and slightly surprised at who you see in the room. Edge, Christian, Matt, Lita, and Jeff—all five of them are here. They’re as surprised as you are, but it's Edge who bolts toward you.

“[Name], [Name], [Name],” Edge repeats your name, taking you by the shoulders and leading you over to Regal’s desk. “I don’t know what he doesn’t get,” He starts off, earning a dirty look from Matt. “Maybe you can get him to understand you. This match isn’t handicap, right?”

“Not at all,” You confirm. “It’s supposed to be us three against you three. What’s going on?”

“That doesn’t matter, okay? Why did you guys even ask for this?” Lita interjected, clearly not on board with it at all. An exasperated look is on her face once she looks towards Regal and back to you. “That’s not gonna give us enough time to prepare, especially if I have to go on again after I fight Trish.”

“You’re up against Trish tonight?” You question. “Must want some revenge for-”

Matt immediately cuts you off, his voice way louder than yours. “It’s funny you of all people decided to show up last. I don’t know which one of ya’ gave him the idea for this match, but it ain’t fair.”

You stand your ground. “I’m sure all of you have performed twice, right?” You fire at him, pointing a finger between Matt, Lita, and Jeff. “I’m sure all of us have been out there more than once, even. What makes it any different now?”

“The fact we don’t want to go against you guys! Is that hard to understand?!” Matt shouts. He’s getting frustrated, so Lita decides to take over.

“Listen,” She starts off. You can hear the strain in her voice even if she was trying to keep calm. “It’s messed up that you guys didn’t ask us first. You just went ahead and did it. There’s other important things we have to do, and for me, that’s dealing with Trish. She’s gotta pay for what she did.”

At the end of her sentence, there’s jealousy as clear as day in her voice. Christian rolls his eyes, uninterested.

“We don’t care.” Christian takes a step toward Lita. “We want a match against you guys. Winner takes all, final showdown.”

Matt immediately shoots to her defense, hopping right in front of her to face Christian. “If you think you’re getting a match, you’re wrong. Back off, man!”

“Ughhhh!” You groan out, startling everyone. “My god, you talk so much. Are we ever gonna have a turn, Matt?” You felt like no one on your side could get a word in edgeways since Matt was trying to take charge. 

As far as you know, Jeff hasn’t said a word since you’ve arrived. He’d been eerily quiet, only making faces and shaking his head. He was like a ghost in the room, standing away from the drama and only spectating it.

Meanwhile, Edge feels like he had been talking to a brick wall. Both of his hands run through his hair in exasperation.

Regal let out a sigh and gets up from his chair. “Ladies and gentlemen!” He calls all of your attention now in order to halt this dispute from getting even more heated. “That’s enough. Stop arguing like children. My decision is final. This match will be taking place tonight and it will be intergender.” 

You’re satisfied with that. It didn’t matter who you got your hands on, as long as you got in that ring. Glancing around, you look at all the combined expressions in the room. Matt’s seething, Lita, who’s clearly on edge, and Jeff who is…still oddly quiet. Both Edge and Christian are neutral, but there’s smiles playing on their lips.

He turns over to Matt, Lita, and Jeff. “The matches won’t be taking place back to back. There’s going to be time in between the matches, just for you, Team Extreme,” His voice is rather mocking when he refers to the other three.

And your team as well, as he pens a brand new name for you three. “ As for you, EC[N], try to plan something a bit more in advance next time. I don’t appreciate the lot of you arguing in my office, there is no room for belligerence here.”

“Sorry.” You’re first to apologize to get on his good side. “On behalf of me, Edge, and Christian.”

With Lita knowing that she’s probably the only one who’d say something nice or anything at all, she speaks up for the other two. “Yeah. We’re sorry. All of us.”

“That’s alright.” Regal quickly accepts those apologies. “As long as some of you have the manners to apologize. I suggest you all to get ready. You’ve got a long night ahead of you, yeah?”

You’re all dismissed, and you give Regal one last nod of appreciation before you go. But, as you’re heading out, you tell Edge and Christian to go on without you for now. You’ll catch up with them later.

You decide to stick back in the hallway and wait for the others to come out. You’d like to have a word with them.

It doesn’t take long before Jeff is the first one that comes out first, and he freezing up when he sees you standing there.

“Jeff Hardy.” You say. “Hello!”

“…Hey.” He greeted, holding his hand up. When he takes a look behind him, he sees that Matt was still complaining to Regal while Lita was trying to get him to let it go for now. He mutters something to himself, something about having some time before Matt actually loses it.

Suppose that gives him more time to speak with you. “I had wondered when I’d get one on one time with you.” You say with a grin. “You were so quiet I almost forgot you were in there. How are you?”

Jeff lets the door close behind him. “I’m fine. You should probably know I don’t talk much, so you shouldn’t expect anything from me.” He seemed to prefer observing things rather than engaging in any conversation, obviously. 

All he can do is give you a shrug. “Matt usually does all the talking for me. I’d rather show things than tell them, y’know? Actions speak louder than words.”

You let out a chuckle. “Wow. That’s almost the most I’ve heard you talk, I think.” You’re impressed. “You’re like an enigma. I give it about a month, I could figure you out.”

He’s a little amused at this, the ghost of a smile on his face. But as soon as you see it, it’s gone. He shrugs at you. “Maybe, but I’m not gonna make it very easy for you.”

As soon as you think you might be getting through to him just a little bit, Matt bursts open the door, mumbling even more complaints. “Hate that guy, he doesn’t even know what he’s talking about!”

Lita follows behind him. “It’s fine, Matt. Let’s just get ready.”

“Uh, hey guys,” You start off, getting their attention before they could chew you out. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for springing this on you so soon. And I’m sorry for snapping on you a little bit, Matt."

Matt rolls his eyes, not buying your apology. He waved his hand dismissively at you. He won’t say much, especially since he’s spent from airing out all his grievances.

But he knows he’ll have enough time to make you regret it in the ring later tonight, so not everything is so horrible right now.

“Oh, come on.” You frown. His silence bothers you. “We’re all supposed to be friends here. How can we bond properly if you don’t know how I work?”

As true as some of it may be, Matt scrunches up his face into a grimace. There’s something wrong with what you said and he’s damn sure pointing it out.

“Let’s get one thing straight now.” Matt’s already on the defensive. “We ain’t friends. None of us are your friends. I don’t know what fantasy world you live in, but you think we’re gonna trust you that easily after you hurt Lita on Raw? You’re crazy.”

He seems to care about Lita a lot. It’s sweet, sure, but it feels overbearing. You wonder if Lita could see that. You hold your hands up toward him. “Okay, okay, sheesh. Not friends. You don’t have to call me crazy.”

Crazy is a strong word. A strong word that shouldn’t apply to you. You’re not crazy.

Matt’s putting a damper on your little scheme, although you have to give him kudos for being wisened up. You’ll try again another time.

“Now that you’ve got us signed up for a match, we need to get ready.” Lita sighs out. That was their cue to leave, and Matt’s more than happy to take that opportunity.

“C’mon.” Matt says, ushering the other two to follow, not even waiting a second before heading down the hall.

Waiting for him to walk further away, Jeff turns to you. “…Take care.” That’s all he leaves you with as Lita goes right with him.

“I’ll see you in the ring!” You call after them. Theres no doubt about it though. After seeing you, they’re left with uneasy feelings in their chests.

“It looks like those three saw a ghost when [Name] showed up!” JR says. “I’m sure everyone is on edge right now.”

Paul gets exactly why they were so tense around you. “I would be too! This same woman from World Championship Wrestling ever so conveniently decided that she liked the WWF. I don’t buy it, JR!”

“Neither do I,” JR agreed. “But she may be our best bet when it comes to Invasion. She’s the only one that’s been close to WCW. If she ends up helping us to a victory, this may be a redemption to remember.”

Not even a few minutes after leaving Regal’s office, you were summoned by Shane McMahon for a meeting.

Why? You don’t know. 

Whatever’s going on here, it’s something you weren’t really expecting. You were greeted by your coworkers almost as confused as you were.

But when Shane had called you and Booker T over to huddle up for some important news, you felt like you were given information you had no idea what to do with.

“Okay, let me get this straight.” You begin, still processing what you’ve heard. A reality check would be nice. “They’re bringing the titles over here?” The other members in the room are too busy with their own conversations to hear you.

“Unfortunately.” Shane sighs, sounding defeated. “Since we’re still part of the WWF, my father decided to bring them over. I understand since we’re all one, but I think it’s fair to keep it on its own show. That’s why Smackdown turned into WCW last time.”

“I missed that.” You admit. You only went to catering, then went right back to your hotel, as there wasn’t much left to do for you. You promised yourself you’d only lie down for a few minutes, but the sleep caught up to you. “Now he’s liable to lose his title.” You add, motioning towards Booker T’s title. “Is that right?”

Booker T isn’t happy at all about it. That’s understandable. You wouldn’t want to be in this predicament if you were a championship holder. “You’re joking. It’s sounding like I gotta defend it from Steve Austin.” He says.

“You just might have to do that. But I’ve got faith in you.” Shane nodded, reaching over to pat his shoulder. “It’s not just the Heavyweight championship. Hardcore, Tag Team Titles, and if I’m not mistaken, the Cruiserweight is coming over too.”

Your memory is failing you, but you know WWF has a couple of titles of their own, including the Women’s Championship, which is your only concern now. “Wouldn’t that be like a shit ton of titles? By the way, who's got the Women's Championship?"

"Her name's Chyna. She's a tough woman." He muses. "She's on a leave of absence but hasn't vacated her title yet. We'll see what happens in the future when she comes back.”

Chyna? You're not sure who she was, but it worries you a bit that Shane said she was tough. If you were to go against her, it sounds you'd have a lot of practice to do in the future.

"I know you’re both worried.” How he says it makes you think he’s tired of you two’s apprehensiveness. “We’ll be fine. Take a seat. I’ll get things started in a minute.” Shane pulls out his phone and wanders off somewhere else, muttering something about an important call to make.

You and Booker T share a wary look. Both of you were unsure, but end up relenting and get to your seats.

You find yourself sitting in the middle of Torrie and Stacy, just how it should be. Looking around, you notice only eleven of you are in here. For a big company like WCW, this is pretty small.

Before you could even speak to Torrie, she beats you to it. “[Name], do you like my outfit?” You had seen it earlier, how could you not? The turquoise of it caught your attention immediately. It was only a short skirt paired with nothing else but a bikini top.

At first, you’re not sure what to say. It’s a very bold choice, that’s for sure. She looks great, you’d voice as such, but the next thing you know, you’re already saying the first thing that popped into your head. “Are we at a strip club or a wrestling show?”

As soon as you say it, you backtrack quickly, covering your mouth. “Oops. Sorry. I wasn’t trying to be mean. You look great.” You don’t miss the way Torrie instinctively pulls down the front of her skirt. It wasn’t that short, but thanks to your comment she still felt a need to adjust it.

Her voice is still light with you, though. “You’re just jealous, [Name].”

“Always wanted to be you!” You reply, sinking back into your seat. “Every night, I cry because I’m not. I’m [Name].”

“I know.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “And besides,” She emphasizes her outfit. “This is all a part of a plan to embarrass Mr. McMahon. I talked to Shane earlier and that’s what he wanted me to do.”

“Embarrass him?” You’re instantly intrigued. “Can I come? I wanna help.”

Torrie immediately shakes her head, almost as if she knew you’d ask. “Shane said you can only get as far as sitting in the room. He doesn’t want you blowing any cover. Me and him know that you have a tendency to…go a little too far.”

You’re pretty offended. “That is not true!” 

“Hmm, okay.” That’s why she’s here. To prove you wrong. “Well, what about the time when you screamed at David Flair that he was nothing but a nepotism baby? Right in front of Ric Flair?”

You felt justified doing it, so you quickly defended yourself. “I remember that, but I wasn’t wrong! He was…listen, that day was not a good one for me. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Your following words are hushed. “The fact Stacy started dating him made things no better. She kept bringing him around! Why did they keep pushing him, Torrie? I couldn’t escape it!”

“Oh, sorry,” Torrie gives an insincere apology with a laugh. “You were in the right. You were. But what about this one? How about the time when I was in the NWO? Remember that? Kevin Nash patted you on the head, and you decided to kick him in his knee! With heels!”

“It wasn’t that bad. I could’ve stabbed my heel into his knee on purpose.” You say. Torrie cringes at the thought of it. “Funny you mention that. I was going to ask you, do you think they’ll bring people like Kevin Nash or Hulk Hogan back here? I think if they bring Hulk Hogan, it’s so over. Their storyline annoyed me. No, excuse me, he annoyed me.”

In the midst of your rant, Torrie’s eyes widen in horror. Everyone knew you weren’t supposed to voice negative feelings about the veteran guys, especially in front of other people.

Maybe it’s a good thing they hadn’t been brought over yet. If this was anything like backstage at WCW and someone had overheard you, you’d probably never see a ring there again.

“It was hard to escape them, you remember. We could barely do anything because they took up like half of the time slots.”

Torrie ends up shrugging. “I don’t know.” She’s never had any issues with them, even when initially involved with the NWO. “They might. I wouldn’t know what they’re waiting on. I do remember that, though. I didn't mind, I didn’t see a reason for us all to do anything more than cat fights.”

”Horrible take.” You quickly say. “I definitely think we should’ve did more than that.”

Luckily for the both of you, Shane had hung up the phone, halting the possible debate between you two.

“Hey, guys,” He calls everyone to attention. “I’m sure all of you know about Invasion.” Shane starts. “And I’m sure you all know how serious this is.”

There are only eleven of you in here, a relatively small group for a big company like WCW. Now that you’re really looking around, you feel blessed that you were one of the few who did end up coming over. Becoming a leader, no less.

“You guys need to look out for each other. My father’s superstars won’t go easy on you. But understand that none of you should feel any fear. We’re going to grow as a unit. I promise this room will be much bigger in a few days. It might even be packed with those who have the same feelings as us. I give you my word as your boss.”

You and the others can only hope that Shane’s promise holds true. 

It’s like he can sense that hesitation, too, because he’s already shaking his head as he looks around the room.

“I can see the looks on your faces,” Shane‘s quick to point out the mutual unease.

“You’re all nervous. I get that. But we can’t let them get under our skin like this! We’re better than them. We’re stronger. And damn it, we have more talent than them. Tonight, we have the last 20 minutes of Raw. It’ll be Buff Bagwell,” He motions to him. “..versus Booker T for the title. This is your time to shine. Oh, and not to forget, Stacy, you’re the ring announcer for the night.”

From the corner of your eye, you can see her face brighten. Good for her.

“That reminds me, some of you remember Wrestlemania X7, right? Were any of you impressed?” He asks. 

Unfortunately, you chose not to attend that event, but someone who did was Stacy. You turn your head to her, and she shakes her head no. She told you about some matches but didn’t hesitate to brush off any feats. As Shane said, you’re better than them.

“If you weren’t impressed there, then you’re not gonna be impressed at Invasion. Trust me. I had to carry my father through my entire Wrestlemania match. That doesn’t mean you’ll have to carry your opponents, but..”

There’s a bit of disagreement, with most of your coworkers complaining that they didn’t want to be the only person pulling their weight. You stand up from your seat, surprising them and Shane.

“Listen, even if we have to take control of the match, that just shows how much experience we have in the ring.” You say. “They can’t keep up with us! It’s just going to show the crowd how better we are.”

As a leader, you felt like you had to try to put some thrill about it into your peers. Most wrestlers hoot at your encouraging words while your little cheerleaders, Stacy and Torrie, clapped their hands.

It’s a small group, but you know it will grow.

Shane gives you an approving nod. “She said it best. I’ll keep this short and sweet. I wanted to give you all a pep talk and reassure you that everything is working out as planned. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. Stay on standby, and have a good night.”

“What do you have planned, Shane McMahon?” You cross your arms. “Not even for me right now, in general.”

“A magician never reveals his secrets.” He grinned. “But, I’ve got something you can do. Torrie’s going to embarrass my father. You’re staying in the room and doing crowd control. Also, a heads up, it’s going to be live.”

It’s live? Great. Exactly what you needed right now. Not really. “Funny you say that.” You say. “She mentioned that to me as we were sitting down. Who else is in there?”

“Stone Cold Steve Austin and his wife, Debra. Can’t forget Kurt Angle. They’re attached to my father’s hip, and they’ve got some issues between them because of it. The one thing I need you to do is to make sure they don’t interrupt Torrie. She’ll lead him away while you go in head first. That means getting in good with the champion and keeping him calm.”

You frown. “I have to play peacemaker? It would’ve been much more fun if I could embarrass Mr. McMahon. Come on, please?” You clasp your hands together.

Shane doesn’t budge. “Nope. I think we both know you’d go a little too far. Besides, you’re supposed to be on their side, remember?”

“Why did Torrie say the same thing?!” You huff out. “I don’t take things too far!”

All he does at first is pat your shoulder with no reassurance whatsoever. “Right, right. I believe you. Now get ready. I’m sure they will be waiting for you guys any minute.”

Weirdly enough, you had come to learn that the WWF and WCW locker rooms were all kept separate. Because of this, it always gave you, Torrie, and Stacy an enormous amount of space. Stacy did about three cartwheels to show how much room there was, touching not one of you or Torrie’s bags!

Even you decided to test it out, leaping around the room. WCW’s locker rooms seemed much smaller than this, granted you shared it with a few other women. You won’t complain about it too much. Not like you care that much anyway.

Actually, maybe you do care. It makes you feel alienated from other wrestlers, almost like they couldn’t stand being near you for a second. Did they hate you guys so much that a separate locker room was necessary?

If that’s the case, then the feeling was mutual. Fuck them, that’s exactly why they’re going to lose at Invasion. Guess things never change regarding backstage life, no matter what company you go to.

“I’m kind of scared.” Torrie admits. She’s combing her fingers through her hair, making sure that it looks perfect enough for the camera.

You turn over to her. Shane already warned you that it’ll be live. You both made sure that you had your acts together. You can’t stutter. You can’t screw up. 

“Just gotta suck it up and do it.” It’s your only advice for her as you reach your fist up to knock. You hear her sharply exhale but ignore it. After giving a warning that you’re about to come in, you open the door and enter with Torrie trailing behind you.

You notice the camera pan over to you two and quickly let a smile grow on your face, nodding toward those seated. Your eyes settle on the championship sitting on the couch behind him, but they quickly return to everyone else.

“Hello.” You greet rather monotonously, but your smile mends it, holding your hand to the first willing person to take it. Kurt’s the most eager, immediately jumping up and taking your hand.

“Hey there, [Name]! How’re you doing tonight? You remember me, Olympic gold medalist—“ 

“Kurt Angle.” You finish for him. “I remember. You were nice enough to pick up my bag. I’m doing fine, thanks. How are you?” You opt to leave out the part where he dropped it. 

He’s happy to hear you remembered him. “Yep, that’s me. I feel great! Wow, you look fantastic tonight. It’s great to see you again.” He really seems to mean it, too.

Flattery doesn’t hurt. You’ll return something insincere when you get the chance to. You take your other hand and set it on the opposite side of his. “Thank you so much!”

As much as you don’t want to, you shake Vince’s hand next, quickly, move onto Steve Austin’s hand, and then his wife. She quickly introduced herself as Debra, a smile on her face. Once you finish shaking her hand, you lean over and say, “Your wife is very pretty.”

You wanted Debra to hear it, too. It’s true, she is pretty, but you only said it to get in good with her. Like thought before, flattery doesn't hurt.

You can hear her giggle beside you. Steve nods his head. “Thanks. That’s why I married her…” His expression then turns into confusion. “How’d you know she’s my wife? Never told you that."

That’s right. No one from this side told you that! Shane did. “O-Oh,” You’re quick to sputter out, breaking your first rule. “Well, I heard all those wrestling magazines talking about you two. I’ve always been a huge fan. Been a big fan of you and wrestling, I mean.”

You think he believes your lie with the way he backs down, his shoulders relaxing and gaze going toward Vince. Torrie mimics your handshakes, immediately cutting to the chase to save you any trouble.  “Mr. McMahon, can we possibly finish up our conversation last Thursday about a contract?”

“Now might be a good time.” His response sounds like you’ve got your foot in the door.

Steve nods his head. “Debra, if you don’t mind, take Kurt and that girl somewhere else. We’ve gotta discuss something about those contracts. Go get them some happy meals or something.”

You shoot him a look, but turn over when you see Vince step away from him. “Well, maybe I should step out as to not embarrass anybody here. And go out just for a moment to…” Vince starts, approaching Torrie. He holds out his arm for her to take. You're unsure whether you should feel thrilled that it's working or nervous for Torrie. 

“You don’t need me?” He sounded a little crushed as he looked at the two, then took a few steps forward to hug him randomly. Shane was right. Steve was firmly attached to his hip. Kurt hadn't made it too obvious that he was, but he seemed pretty appalled that Steve had gotten to hug Vince.

As Torrie reaches to grab Vince’s arm, the two head towards the door and she turns her head to give you a quick wink. It’s almost reassuring. You’re like 98% sure Torrie can handle herself. Quite literally against your will, you end up hearing him loudly proclaim the color of her outfit being his favorite color and how great her tan looked. Ugh.

Steve was the only person who caught the wink exchange between you two and was quick to point that out. “What the hell was that?”

It’s best to act clueless, so you look at Steve with a relatively blank look. “What was what?” If they’re as dumb as Shane says they are, then hopefully, you can pass things off as him being delusional.

“That thing she did with her eye. I saw that crap.” He accuses. You questioning him like that only pissed him off more. “She looked right at ya’!” 

“I have no idea what you mean. I wasn’t paying any attention. Maybe an eyelash fell into her eye.” You turn your attention toward the spot next to Kurt, and as you motion toward it, he pats it happily.  

Debra lightly hits Steve’s arm to get his attention, a disappointed look on her face. “I thought Mr. McMahon told his wife he changed.”

You’re not entirely sure what that means, but it makes you raise a brow. “What in the world does that mean?” All of their heads turn to you, and just like that, you’re quickly apologizing. “Sorry, not my place?”

Debra shakes her head. “No, sweetie, I’d be happy to tell you.” The pet name makes you smile. “Mr. McMahon tends to—"

“He is a changed man, Debra,” Steve loudly cuts her off. “The man’s trying to talk business! How is he going to sit here and talk business with you know who? You know who with the gold medals around his neck!” He points over at Kurt.

“Me?!” Kurt’s already on the defense, getting up from his seat. Vehemently shaking his head, he approaches Steve. “Hold on, he's not uncomfortable with me! Not with me, I don’t think so.”

“Then why’d he leave?”

Steve’s question makes Kurt jerk his head toward Debra a few times and you can hear Kurt whisper, “Your wife.” The opportunity arises for you to try and stir the pot, so you speak up, standing up as you do so.

“Oh, you mean Debra?” The two turn to you at a neck-breaking speed, and you shrug, looking between them innocently. None of them do anything to save face, either. Anyways, you move on. “You know, I’m excited. I can’t believe I’m in the same room as Stone Cold Steve Austin."

A lie. You hadn’t had the slightest idea as to who he really was and who he wrestled. The only interest you had in wrestling was WCW, crossing your fingers that they’d win this so-called “Monday Night War”, and here you are, finding yourself a part of it. Well, the fragments, maybe.

When you signed that contract in 1999, rumors began circulating backstage that WCW wasn’t doing so well regarding ratings. It broke your heart. You wanted to do everything you could to keep people intrigued, even with your limited creative freedom.

“I can’t believe you watched WWF while in WCW.” Kurt says. “I get it, though. I bet you were bored of what they had to offer, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Absolutely.” You nod. “Boring. So boring. I almost fell asleep during the broadcasts. None of my coworkers were any fun, either. They all cared about themselves. It didn't seem like a family. I'd hope that this place would be a better change."

“I figured! Besides, you should be a much bigger fan of me, [Name].” He holds up the gold medals around his neck to boast even further, the metal glimmering under the light. “I won this in the 1996 Olympics. With a broken neck!”

“Wow.” is the only thing you’re able to say. You won’t lie; that was pretty impressive. “That’s amazing. Could I take a closer look at your medals?”

He nods and happily takes them off, holding them out to you. You take a minute to inspect them, muttering compliments to feed his ego. The idea of stealing them and pinning the blame on Steve becomes all too easy, especially since you’ve noticed the static between the two.

As you’re distracted, Kurt turns his head over to Steve with a grin and points his finger toward you. It was almost like he said, "I told you so". Steve can only roll his eyes at this show. “Those damn medals don’t matter. What’s your favorite match of mine, kid?”

You pause, your heart dropping down to your stomach. You weren’t expecting him to ask that, and your brain racks for possibilities of who he could’ve wrestled. 

A nervous chuckle comes out. “It’s kinda embarrassing. I mean, I think I picked the most lackluster one to like,” which was a quip on its own, but you only did it to buy yourself just an ounce of more time to think.

Plenty of WWF wrestlers came over to WCW and vice versa. Had you been any wiser to this attack on this company, you would've asked around to hear who's wrestled who.

A nervous chuckle comes out of you. “It’s kinda embarrassing. I mean, I think I picked the most lackluster one to like.” Which was a crack at him, but you only did it to buy yourself another ounce of time to think.

Yet, a trip to your local Blockbuster was already in your future. It’s going to be a pain in the ass. Still, if you want to learn about this company and not get caught in a situation like this again, you don’t have a choice but to binge-watch their previous tapings.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” Debra bat her hand at you. “He has plenty of good matches—“

Steve’s voice overpowers her again. “Damn right, I do. Better than what this blabbermouth’s been doing in the ring.”

“Hey!” Kurt yells in offense. “I thought we agreed I wasn’t the blabbermouth! Your wife’s the blabbermouth!”

Now Debra’s offended all over again. “What?! Steve, are you just going to let him say that?!”

When you look toward him, Steve’s just stuck in thought. He really was going to let that slide, what a way to defend your wife.

You let out an amused huff. The more you stick around, the more you realize it's looking dysfunctional around here.

You really hope Torrie hurried it up.

Steve’s quick to move on, much to Debra’s chagrin. He’s gearing up to go. “I should go find Vince. I can’t stop thinkin’ about Invasion. He needs someone who isn’t a dork to talk about it with.”

You can’t let him leave, so you immediately shoot into action, drowning out Kurt’s complaints with your words. “Hey, I don’t think it’s best to bother them.”  It almost grossed you out to say this, but you grip your fist and go for it. “I think Torrie had quite a few…intentions when I talked to her about this. We shouldn't interrupt them.”

“Intentions?” Kurt repeats, his gaze going from you toward Steve. “What does that mean?”

"Intentionssss." You drag out the word, nodding your head. You don't explain, hoping that someone would catch your drift.

Steve also looks at you in confusion for a moment, then puts his hands on his hips.

The only person who understood you was Debra, you think. Her eyes widened and she spread her arms out toward Steve.

“See! I told you. This is spelling bad news, you never listen to me and it bothers me. It's like you don't care about anything I say. I’m your wife, for gods sake!”

Brushing Debra off, Steve is quick to leave her frustrations in the air unaddressed. “I’m telling the both of ya’, the man’s just talking business!” Steve insisted. “He’s like me, worried about Invasion and all these wrestlers coming out the woodwork. It’s the only thing I give a damn about right now.”

It would be generous to say Steve was in hot water with Debra. It would have been boiling at this point. You weren't exactly here for marriage counseling, so you set things straight. “I’m more than welcome to help you guys,” You offer. “That’s why I came here. You know, see you guys win.”

Steve comes over to you, staring you straight in the eye. It's an intimidation tactic you don’t back down from. “It’s gonna take a lot more than some help to win. You better have the guts. You better have the drive. And you damn sure better not chicken out.”

You answer without hesitation. “Being scared isn’t possible when winning is the only choice you have. Trust me, I’m the last person you’d have to worry about.” 

Saying that brings a smile to Kurt and Debra's faces and a smirk to Steve’s.

You return your disingenuous smile. You’re looking forward to twisting your metaphorical knife in their back to see their faces of disappointment in the future.

It’s not only them, either. It’s everyone else, too. The people you’ve met so far…they don’t know what’s coming to them. 

“Guys,” Kurt calls in a rather serious tone. All of you turn toward him, and he crosses his arms. His face is proud as he looks back at the three of you. “You know, I’ve got a good feeling about this. This little  alliance. A very good feeling. I say let’s all celebrate this with some cold glasses of milk.”

Milk? Out of everything he could’ve offered, he picked milk. He could’ve picked soda, juice, hell, you wouldn’t even be mad if he conjured up liquor from somewhere.

But milk.

You stare at Kurt momentarily before reaching over and patting his shoulder. “Milk? You’re one sandwich short of a picnic, aren’t you?” Although the crowd laughs at your jab, you deliver it to Kurt in the sweetest voice imaginable. “I like your spirit.”

Both Debra and Steve snicker at you, but Kurt’s pretty clueless. All he can do is be happy at your “compliment”. 

“Thank you, [Name]! At least some people around here can appreciate me. You know, I don’t do this often, but I’d like to teach you a mentality you’ll need if you’re hanging with us.” Kurt slings an arm around your shoulder, and you immediately tense up. There’s a certain mentality you were supposed to have been here?

“The three I’s.” Kurt starts, then uses his free hand to gesture toward the air. “Intensity, Integrity, Intelligence. You use them, and you’re good as gold.”

“This shit again..” Steve mumbles under his breath. He must’ve thought it flew under the radar, but you heard him. Before Kurt can detail his so-called three I's, Steve raises his voice. “Alright, alright. You’re making the girl fall asleep.”

“For your information, [Name] is wide awake!” To make a point, Kurt shakes the arm he has around you. “If she learns the three I's, you'll say thank you, Kurt, for teaching her a champion mindset!”

“Champion mindset, my ass. Who's got the title?” Steve asks, reaching over to grab the belt from the couch. “Me, not you.”

This is childish. The both of them were trying to one-up another. However, your mind is on other things. “What title is that? There's so many I've had to keep up with that it's so easy to lose track, you know?”

You say the last bit as a quick coverup for your lack of knowledge, but you're truly curious this time.

“WWF Championship,” Kurt answers quicker than Steve can, like he’s trying to score a point for what he did. “Pretty piece of gold, eh?”

You make a noise of agreement, but it lacks enthusiasm. Kurt reaches over to slap his hand on the center, much to Steve's disgust.

The champion yanks it away from him. “The hell are ya' doin' to my title?” Steve looks at him accusingly, as if he just committed a crime in front of him.

“And you,” He points you out next. “Don't look at my title like that. It looks like you want it. I'm gonna be the first to say you're damn sure not getting it.”

“Steve!” Debra huffs out, her hands on her hips. “Leave that girl alone, she admires you. [Name], don’t take it too seriously.”

Steve shakes his head, gripping his title for dear life. He can't just trust some admirer who was ogling his title like that. Out of all people, you decided to pick him. “I'm not a damn role model.”

“I am,” Kurt cuts in. 

Steve continues his mini-rant, ignoring Kurt, but does not forget to give him an irritated look. “Not a hero either. I don't give a damn about what's right or wrong. I do what I want. You're better off riding on someone else's coattails cause' I ain't the guy you should look up to.”

If you were a fan, hearing him say those things would have broken your heart.

Luckily for you, you weren't! So you're going to keep trying. Try to work your way into this little group that they have. “Then, I'm going to do what I want, too.”

The door suddenly busts open, startling the four of you. It's Vince, his pants rolled down around his ankles. “She got me!” He roared out. “Look at me!”

He must've come back here to show you guys because there's no way he's just walking around like that willingly. You don't even try to hold back your laughter, leaning over to hold your stomach.

Him coming here like that was probably the funniest thing you've ever seen. “This is your fault!” Vince accuses. Your laughter is abruptly stopped. “You…you planned this!”

“I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted ya'! That damn wink you gave Torrie was the signal!” Steve looks at you in disdain, shaking his head and shielding his title away from your gaze once more.

You're immediately on the defense. This plan was blowing up in your face in the worst possible way. “Woah, woah, woah, me?! How was I supposed to know she would do that? It's not my fault Vince wanted to be alone with her! I wanted to know about a contract! Take that out on Shane McMahon, not me!”

Vince is red with anger, and it's even funnier with his pants down. Sadly, you can't enjoy it how you want to, trying to defend yourself. “Get out of here, now!” He barks at you. “Damn it, I want her gone, NOW!”

His attention switches between Kurt and Steve, seeing who would do the honors of removing you first. You look at Debra and Kurt, hoping they'll step in for you somehow, but both stay quiet with their tail between their legs.

Steve springs into action, tossing his belt back onto the couch and setting his hands on your shoulders to push you out.

“Hey! Listen to me! I had nothing to do with this! What do I have to do to prove myself?!” You try to fight back, trying your best to stay in the room and explain yourself.

You thought most of your cries had gone unheard, but Steve looked back at Vince and then towards you. His following few words leave you stunned. “Best thing you can do is kick that girls ass! But she’s your little friend, so you won’t do it, will ya’?”

And when you're finally pushed out of the room, the door slams in your face when you turn around to try to face him.

Saying that this backfired was a huge understatement. The next thing you needed to do was figure out how to clear your name. A way that preferably didn't involve beating Torrie up.

You can hear their muffled speaking through the door. Steve's was louder than the others, and you walked over to put your ear against it.

"-took care of the trash, Vince."

Trash? Was he talking about you?? You narrow your eyes as you listen further.

"I think that was a little overboard." That was Debra. "I don't think she had anything to do with this. That's saying something."

"How the in hell are you gonna say she didn't do anything?! That girl was plotting, Debra. Plotting to embarrass Vince." Steve again.

"I can't believe I was going to tell her my strategy. I guess you can't trust anybody. Isn't that right, Steve?" It's Kurt next. You can't stand listening any longer, your frustration bubbling up toward the surface.

As bleak as it looks, beating Torrie up may be your next option. However, you'll continue playing this damsel in distress role to reach the goal.

Like she was lying in wait, the woman of the hour comes rounding the corner with a giddy look on her face. She can’t even sit still, you’d be the same way, had you gotten out of the room with no issue.

Her voice lowered, but still excited, she grabs your hands and jumps in place. “Did you see that, [Name]? I totally got him! His wife came in and it was hilarious! He completely got caught with his pants down!” 

You absolutely had to gain trust again. You don’t want to disappoint Shane and you can’t afford to lose trust this close to Invasion.

You had a feeling that you’re right on the cusp of getting in there. Kurt and Debra seemed to have liked you, and you weren’t so sure about Steve, but you can definitely persuade him by proving yourself to him.

In a perfect world, this would’ve went well and you would’ve solidified your spot in the WWF. But this was a stupid idea, and it probably should’ve been planned out more.

“Yeah, I saw.” You give a strained smile to Torrie. “It was really funny…”

Thankfully, Edge and Christian weren’t quite wary of you when you met up, more focused on their match ahead. If they had any suspicion, you’d rather them ask it afterwards. You’re here to win as of now.

Especially Christian, who’d lost against X-Pac earlier. Kind of like you, he was looking to burn off some steam and he mentioned how he was more than happy to do it again in the ring. 

Although, you couldn’t help but to feel as if they’d been giving you weird looks since you got here. 

Matt, Jeff, and Lita had already made their entrance. The three of you were up next.

JR’s the first to kick things off. “We’ve got hell of a match cooking up tonight. Six man tag-team match set up by Commissioner Regal, I hear it’s partly thanks to [Name]. I tell you, Paul, I don’t know how she’s done it. She waltzes up into this company, begs for a match, and gets it immediately? I know a few guys here that would die for a chance to do something like that!”

Right now, you feel very stiff. No idea why, either. You had started feeling that way when you made your way over to gorilla and you still feel that way coming down the ramp. You made sure to stretch before hand, so you’re not entirely sure why you feel tense.

Edge cooly slides into the ring as Christian descends up the stairs. You watch them for a second, waiting until they clear out of your way before you go up the stairs yourself.

“The real question is, can this woman hold her own against Lita?” Paul says. “I gotta say, that [Name] looks like she’s a tricky one. I might even say she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing! It’s almost foolish to say she wasn’t involved with Torrie Wilson’s scheme!” Paul exclaims. “For once, I can admit that Stone Cold Steve Austin had a point. Don’t. Trust. Anybody!”

Almost immediately, Christian rushes right into the ring and straight up tackles Matt onto the mat to start punching the bell out of him. The rest of you look in awe, completely startled at his sudden aggression.

In an attempt to defend his brother, Jeff rushes over to try and knock him off, but Edge catches him, spearing him right out of the way before he can do any damage.

“Look at this madness between these teams! Can they even control themselves??” Paul chastises. “The match hasn’t even started yet!”

“A long standing rivalry between those men. Edge and Christian, the Hardy’s, they’ve been at each others necks for nearly two years now.” JR starts to explain. “There may be some mutual respect, but it’s all about winning. As a matter of fact, it’s only a matter of time before Lita and [Name] start to clash because of it..”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Lita start to approach you, so you decide to get her before she gets you first, leaping at her with the intent to hit her. There’s complete chaos in the ring as the referee rushes around, unsure as to who to stop.

JR called it. “And there they go!”

The crowd yells even louder as they watch all of you exchange blows. Christian and Matt decide to take things outside the ring, both rolling out. Edge and Jeff also start to make their way out, giving you and Lita the floor to do as you please.

Because you two were the only ones left within the ring, the referee decided that you two were going to be the legal men. He forces his arm right in between you two, then completely pushes you away from Lita.

You take a moment to catch your breath, retreating over to the corner and adjusting your gear. The men on the outside finally stop fighting each other and make their way up to their respective corners.

When Edge and Christian get up onto the apron, you can hear them saying words of encouragement toward you, albeit out of breath. Christian is the one who reaches over and slaps your shoulder twice. “[Name], you’re up.”

“Good luck.” Edge gives you a thumbs up.

When you focus back on your opponents, you can see Matt pointing fingers toward you, while Lita’s trying to play peacemaker. You’re not exactly sure what they’re saying, as the crowd buzzing all around you prevents you from hearing them.

She holds her hands up, gently pushing him away from her. Matt eventually relents, going under the ropes followed by Jeff. There’s a focused look on her face as she sighs and looks at you.

“Reaaady?” You ask her with a smile. She doesn’t reply.

The referee takes a look at you two and nods in confirmation to himself, then turns to signal for the bell. The bell rings thrice, signaling you two are cleared to begin.

The both of you approach the center of the ring carefully, then rush at each other to lock up.

Lita gets the better of you as she suddenly breaks the hold, giving the impression that she would irish whip you into the ropes until she pulls you back and knees your stomach.

You immediately keel over in pain, but she doesn’t stop there. Lita stands you up straight, hooks her leg behind your knee, then pulls your arm over her shoulder. She lifts you up with practiced ease, and then fisherman suplexes you right down onto the mat.

The sharp pain runs right up your spine and you writhe on the mat for a moment.

“Lita!” You hear Matt call. You turn yourself to look at him and see his hand outstretched toward her. And when you tilt your head to look up at Lita to see her reaction, she seems rather confused.

Instead of reaching down to pick you up, she walks towards Matt. You take this opportunity to take your foot and jam it into the back of her knee, causing her to crumple down onto the mat with a thud.

“[Name] quickly taking advantage of this situation!” JR watches as you hop on Lita in an attempt to pin her. The crowd buzzes in anticipation, but she kicks out quickly. “Matt wanted the tag in, but I don’t think he meant to distract her!”

Matt puts a hand on his chest and sighs of relief. That was a close one…

“If you ask me, JR, it seems like Matt has a little bit of a crush on [Name]!” Paul theorizes, turning his head over to him. “Why else would he want to get his hands on her? I think that Hardy boy likes what he sees.”

“Now where in gods name did you get that from?” JR raises an eyebrow at him. “Matt and Lita are together, besides, don’t you see how irritated he was with her earlier?”

“But you’ve gotta look deeper.” Paul insists to him, motioning a hand up to the ring. “Look past the suspicion for a second! I know it may be hard for someone like you to get this, but know that a beautiful woman like [Name] could easily whisk Matt Hardy away! In fact, Lita should be on her knees thanking [Name] for her mercy!”

You get up from your spot and give a kick right into Lita’s midsection before she can get up to ensure she’ll have the wind knocked out of her for a bit longer. You turn on your heel and wave at Jeff, who only looks at you in confusion.

He still waves back, fortunately.

“Let me humor you,“ JR says. “But it seems like Matt’s out of luck. [Name] looks like she’s got her eyes on another Hardy at the moment.”

When you turn around and lean down to get her back up, Lita elbows you right in the stomach to take back control. She gets up onto her feet and grabs onto your hair, then works her way over toward the corner and slams your head right into the turnbuckle.

You almost lose your footing from the impact and grab onto the rope. Lita forces you to turn around and starts to punch you. She stops around the third time, then pulls you back out in another attempt to irish whip you into the other corner.

You saw it coming. You spin around and reverse it so that she’s catapulted to the corner instead. Once her back hits the turnbuckle, you take a few steps back and run towards her to slam your hip into her torso.

”Switch out,” The referee suddenly tells you two. You’re not sure if Lita was taken aback as much as you were, but damn.

That call was quick, a little too quick. But if that’s what they wanted, then fine. You begrudgingly walk over to her, hold onto the ropes, and use your foot to choke her for a few seconds.

There’s still some time in the rest of the match, so you’re not too upset about it right now. You can come back later.

Anyway, you’re quick to reach your tag team partners and decide to give it to a very eager Christian. His hand quickly slaps yours and you two trade positions. You’re hanging back with Edge and you look at him with a strained smile. 

He can’t even question it either, the attention is focused back onto the ring. Christian grabs Lita up by her hair, but she gathers enough strength to lift her arm up and give him a low blow.

It gives her time to rush over to her corner, nearly losing her footing as she does so, and tag Jeff in. A shrill of women screaming in joy hit your ears, and Jeff rushes into the ring to handle Christian. Immediately, he drop kicks him. The crowd excitedly gets onto their feet for him.

All the while, Matt looks incredibly offended. You can’t help but to snicker.

“She skipped right over Matt!” Paul exclaimed. “Talk about a lovers quarrel!”

“Matt Hardy visibly not pleased about the tag,” JR points out. That displeased look is forever written all over Matt’s face as he turns over to Lita.

Just before Jeff can do anything else,  Christian’s able to catch him. With strength that even surprises you, Christian lifts Jeff up and drops him stomach first onto his knee.

JR flinches at the sound of the impact. “God, what a gutbuster by Christian!”

Jeff immediately rolls off of his knee, clutching his stomach in pain. But it doesn’t end there, Christian comes over and grabs him into a headlock. He puts up a struggle, flailing his arms and doing his best to remove Christian’s grip.

“Come on, Jeff!” Lita yells, slapping her hand on the rope. “Get up!” Then she starts to clap her hands, coaxing the crowd to join her.

Claps begin to echo around the arena, which gives Jeff enough motivation to get up from his spot and free himself from the headlock. The crowd cheers and he punches Christian multiple times. He ends up backing him into a corner and continues this assault.

Both you and Edge reach your hand out to no avail, desperately wanting to get in there and save Christian.

Jeff’s taking advantage of this upper hand for as long as he can, and the crowd has yet to simmer down. He’s on fire!

And suddenly, he starts to tuck Christian’s head under his arm. You’re not entirely sure what move that is, but Edge frantically hit your shoulder, worriedly calling your name. “This is way too early, that’s his finisher! You gotta get in there!”

Oh yeah. You’re stopping that immediately. "I got it! Hey!” You call for the referee’s attention and start to get under the ropes. He turns over to you and starts to chastise and push you back out, which lets Edge slink into the ring.

You’re grabbing onto his shoulders, making sure that he doesn’t turn around to see what’s going on. 

“Referee‘s got his back turned, Edge is in the ring!” JR says.

“[Name]’s pulling out some tricks!” Paul adds in. “Suppose she’s playing some mind games to get where she wants to be!”

Matt and Lita try to get the referee’s attention, but you’ve got him distracted by making a scene. He’s trying to hold you back from intervening while Edge yanks Jeff off of Christian, turning him around and lifting him up to perform a Flapjack.

When Jeff hits the mat, he hits it hard. The way the mat thuds in response to his body landing on it makes you flinch.

You think he’s out cold for a second, which weirdly concerns you. Edge quickly exits the ring afterward, quickly getting under the ropes as to not rouse any suspicion.

Once he’s securely over there, you let go of the referee and he turns back around to see Christian trying to pin Jeff.

He starts to count, but Jeff gets his shoulder up a little bit after two. Both men rise to their feet once more..

But the loud sound of glass shattering completely startled you. The music that began playing afterward is drowned out by the crowd screaming.

“The rattlesnake?! What in gods name is he doing out here?!” JR exclaims in shock.

You turn to see none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin himself coming down the ramp. You’re confused, with the feeling shared by your fellow wrestlers. He comes down the ramp and slides into the ring, quickly turning Christian toward him and kicks him right in the stomach, pulling off a Stunner on him.

Jeff wasn’t exempt either. Steve kicks him in his stomach and does yet another Stunner.

When you look at your opponents, you see Matt come from under the ropes, while Lita jumps off of the apron to get away. It’s probably the fastest you’d ever seen her move so far.

Edge springs into action too, but you know for a fact they’re both going to meet the same fate. When he gets to handle them, it was only then you realized he came to disrupt the flow of the match.

The bell rings, signaling that this match ends in a no contest. All thanks to Steve.

You’ve only done a few things and yet, it gets ruined. Your start here gets ruined by him. The man who wanted you to prove yourself, the man who told you to get rid of Torrie if you had the balls to and you’d have their trust.

He seriously ruined your debut match.

Ruined every single thing about it and all you can do is just stare in shock, but it quickly warps into anger. Was this supposed to be his revenge?

JR notices the range of emotions on your face. “She looks conflicted! In the face of a rattlesnake, what can a woman like [Name] do?!”

“You either get bit or run like hell! I mean, look at Lita,” Paul said. “She high-tailed it out of the ring!”

Steve turns to look at you, waiting to see if you’d do anything in response to this attack. Yet again, the crowd gets on their feet.

“Does that piss you off, little girl?” The patronizing tone he speaks to you in makes you clench your fist and grit your teeth. Who did he think he was?

“Yes!” You exclaim, huffing out heavily afterward. “Yes, it pisses me off!” In response, Austin comes closer to you on the apron, getting right in your face.

Getting revenge was great, but he figured  seeing your aggression on display was greater. Men and women cower when his name is even mentioned, but you, you weren’t afraid to step up it looked like.

“Good. Good!” He says, watching as you twist your head away from him. “I’m glad that shit pisses you off.”

As much as you want to hit him, you don’t. Something in the back of your mind tells you that you couldn’t compromise yourself. If you were to get back into his good graces, you don’t have a choice but to stand there and take it. 

So much to Steve (and the crowd’s) disappointment, you jump off of the apron without a fight.

Match is over, what’s the point of sticking around?

There’s boos from all around you as you throw your hands up. You’ve already had enough major losses for the day. Can’t wait for the next inevitable disappointment.

As soon as you push those curtains away and hit backstage, there’s someone waiting for you. This is no wrestler. From the looks of his no-nonsense appearance coupled with his neat clothing, you can only assume that this older man is a member of production. He’s sorting through some papers and then looks up at you.

“Ah, [Name], right?” He asks, holding out his hand. Once you take it with a rather defeated nod, he smiles. "My name is Julian. Some of the creative team were watching you in the truck and at the tail end of the match, I was sent to speak with you backstage on behalf of the team. I’ll make this quick, trust me. You seem like a busy woman now.”

”Guess so.” You say. The sudden reminder that the window to return the rental car in was closing, and you wince. Hopefully this is as quick as he says. “You know, you guys sound like the police, doing all that surveillance. You guys have a production truck? I’m curious to see what it looks like now..”

“We do. Must be an upgrade from WCW, yeah?” He chuckles at your curiosity. “Unfortunately, wrestlers aren’t allowed back there. Onto lighter news, for your first match, you did great. Everything went according to plan.” His praise brings a tired smile onto your face. “However, there is just one thing.”

No matter how perfect something might be, you’ll always be subjected to some kind of criticism, so you think you’re ready to hear it. You don’t say anything, simply nodding your head for him to go on.

“You see,” Julian clears his throat, weirdly nervous. “How do I say this?” Almost as if he doesn’t want to offend you, he gives you an uneasy smile.

“Believe me. You look fantastic in the ring from what we’ve seen so far. You can hold your own. But we don’t want you to outshine the others, that’s all. Slow your moves down a bit at least. If you need any assistance with changing things up, we have a school over in Kentucky. There’s nothing wrong with staying off television.”

Guess they wanted to nip it in the bud before you had any single matches. You’re not even sure if the compliment he gave you was worth it. He sits here smiling all while telling you that you had to slow down, suggesting that you change the way you wrestle.

And why? To be dumbed down to Torrie or Stacy’s level in the end? You love them to death, but everyone knows they can’t touch you in the ring. You’re more fit for someone like Lita, that is until you find out how the other woman of the WWF roster hold themselves up in the ring. Besides Trish, you’d like to meet them. 

But this? This is killing your morale. It’s not fair. “No,” You quickly answer. “I’m not interested in it and I don’t need help either.”

You quiet down after thinking about what he’s told you. Shortly after, a battered Edge and Christian brush past you, the both of them gently setting their hand onto your shoulder as they go, perhaps telling you that it was a good match.

They don’t forget Julian, shaking his hand as they pass by. He praises them, telling them that they looked great out there and keep up the good work. Despite it being nearly the same as your own praise, theirs felt more genuine.

You think you’re starting to hate this place more and more. You’d much rather be at your true home.