Title: Mid-Life Crisis
Author: eena_angel2001
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Rating: PG-13.
Category: BTVS/WWE
Pairings: Lita/Edge, Faith/Christian, Fred/Jericho, Dawn/Jeff, Willow/RVD.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, though I'm curious how much Vince would want for Edge, or Jeff, or Jericho, or RVD, or any of the hotties!
Spoilers: Season Six for BTVS, Season Three for ATS, and just some recent ones for WWE, can't really say yet.
Summary: Faith's afraid she's reached her prime . . .
Notes: Please read these! They're kind of important.
1) Fred and Gunn never dated.
2) Fred left the LA crew after Wes kidnapped Connor and everything went downhill for the group.
3) Willow did not kill Warren, though she did come very close.
4) Spike killed Warren, with his soul and promptly went crazy with guilt.
5) Faith has been out of jail for a while and has been hanging out in LA until the baby fiasco.
6) Dawn is eighteen for this fic.
7) Buffy has sent Dawn away with Willow to keep her safe from the shaky Hellmouth.
~*~*~
Original Challenge:
Got bored today during a break in training, so I made up a challenge...
Must Haves:
1. Lita/Edge, Lita/Jeff, or Lita/Christian
2. Faith/RVD, Faith/Kurt Angle, or Faith/Christian
3. (over 18, obviously) Dawn/Jeff, Dawn/Shannon, or Dawn/Christian
4. Fred/Jericho, Fred/Jeff, or Fred/Chris Benoit
5. Willow/Billy Kidman, Willow/Kurt Angle, or Willow/RVD
6. Faith fearing that she's losing her Slayer powers when she has to be saved by one of the male wrestlers
7. None of the Scoobies is capable of doing a Litacanrana/hurricanrana, a moonsault, the Swanton Bomb, the Whisper in the Wind, the Five Star Frog Splash, etc.
8. An overbearing Buffy and an overprotective Angel
9. A diva (*not* Trish, it should be someone else) thinking Bubba Ray Dudley is cute
Choose as many as you want:
1. Xander unsuccessfullly attempting a wrestler's finishing move and making a fool out of himself doing so
2. Dawn kicking either Regal or Test in the shins
3. A diva (one of the regular divas *or* Dawn, Willow, or Fred) being attacked/injured by Rosie and Jamal
4. Bischoff being put through a table - or two
5. Someone comparing Regal to Giles - unfavorably, of course
6. Angel attacking one of the wrestlers (preferably a guy used in one of the pairings) - and getting beaten by that wrestler
7. Dawn defeating Dawn Marie in some type of a gimmick match
8. Edge and Christian becoming friends again
9. Fred knocking someone out with a steel chair
10. Either Buffy or Cordelia *losing* a bra and panties match to Lita
11. Anya getting a vengeance assignment in the WWE
12. Faith making fun of one of the following: Triple H's nose, Jericho's beard, or Heyman's ponytail
13. Someone asking Rico why his wrestling gear looks like pajamas
14. The line "Milk really did his body good." in reference to Kurt Angle (of course!)
15. Buffy trying to steal someone's boyfriend - and getting 'slut' chants from the crowd in response
16. The conversation: "There are two things I don't believe in: coincidence and government intelligence."
"What about the Easter bunny?"
"Oh, I believe in that."
17. The line "When in doubt, kiss a Hardy Boy."
18. The line "The voices in my head are telling me to kill you, and if you don't shut up, I'm going to obey them."
19. The lines "Violence is not the answer." "It is if you ask the right question."
20. The conversation: "I just want to do, you know, girlie stuff for once."
"Beating the hell out of someone does not qualify as girlie stuff."
"It does here."
Thanks to anyone who attempts this...
Karen
~*~*~
~*~Part One~*~
"This is it isn't it? This is what I've come to. There's nothing left for me now. I'm washed up and useless. This is the end."
Willow rolled her eyes, throwing an apologetic smile at the blonde haired man at her side. He looked slightly nervous, eyes watching Faith in concern. The Slayer wasn't bothering with any of them, so busy was she lamenting her loss. Willow could only shake her head at the sight, feelings of exasperation coming to the front. She turned to the blonde stranger, patting him lightly on the shoulder.
"Ignore her," she instructed him. "She's just being weird and overly melodramatic."
"Maybe she's in shock," the man mumbled nervously, looking down at the still brunette. "Maybe we should take her to the hospital."
"She's in shock," Willow agreed. "But not the kind you're thinking of. She'll be fine, just give her a minute."
"My life is over!" Faith wailed at that moment, burying her head in her hands. "Over!"
Willow shook her head, nudging the Slayer with her foot. Faith failed to respond, the sounds of her wailing coming out muffled from behind her hands. Willow rolled her eyes once more.
"Get up," the redhead admonished her. "And thank him already. He saved you, you know."
"I know," Faith muttered dejectedly. "I had to be saved. What does it mean?"
Her eyes turned frantically to the man who was in fact her saviour. She narrowed her gaze, looking at him observantly. He was a little frightened by her gaze, backing up a step.
"What are you?" she demanded. He looked taken back.
"Huh?"
"What are you?" she repeated. "What powers or abilities do you have? How were you able to do that?"
"I'm just a wrestler," the guy mumbled in confusion. "I just know how to fight. Are you sure you're okay?"
"She's fine," Willow offered from his side.
"No I'm not!" Faith protested, jumping to her feet. "I had to be saved. Do you know what that means Willow?"
"You're lucky he came along?"
"NO!" Faith shook her head vehemently, stamping her foot slightly. "It means I'm losing my strength, my fighting ability, everything that makes me Me! I had to be saved by some guy! I'm turning out to be some weak floozy- I'm turning out to be Cordelia."
The blonde wrestler was looking decisively uncomfortable by this point. His eyes went from the annoyed redhead and the distressed brunette, suddenly feeling the urge to get as far away from them as possible.
"Can I go now?" he asked Willow. "She's kind of scaring me."
"Where do you work?" Faith asked him, ignoring his other words. "Tell me and then you can go."
"I work for the WWE," the man shrugged. "And I'm probably going to be late for the house show if I don't get going. I hope you feel better. Bye!"
And with that, he was flying out of the apartment and heading for the stairs. Willow clucked her tongue at that, turning to frown at Faith.
"You didn't even say thank you," the redhead sighed. "You didn't even ask for his name. That was just plain rude Faith. He went to all the trouble of helping you out and you just yelled at him. You're quite impossible Faith."
"I'm losing my Slayer-ness," the brunette muttered, not even paying attention to her friend. "I've hit my prime and now my powers are leaving me!"
"You are not losing anything!" Willow cried out in exasperation. "Except maybe your sanity. Would you snap out of it Faith? You're still the Slayer, you just needed help this once."
"With a human!" Faith declared, gripping Willow's arms tightly. "I need help with a human from a regular human."
"Faith, the guy nailed you from behind," Willow shook her head. "It was just a mugger who was looking for some quick cash. He hit you while you were patrolling and you couldn't have seen it coming. You were kind of busy fighting off some vampires at the time."
"This would never happen to Buffy," Faith murmured, shaking her head. "I've lost it. I'm no good anymore."
"Oh Goddess Faith, get over it!" the redhead looked mildly annoyed now. "What is it going to take to help you get over this?"
"He said he was a wrestler," Faith kept muttering. "That means he got all his skills from wrestling. That's how he had the advantage."
"And he was twice the mugger's size," Willow tried to interject. But Faith ignored her, murmuring to herself.
"I have to get as good," the Slayer whispered. "I can't let this happen again. I need to find out what makes him so special."
"He's just a nice guy who decided to help you out!" Willow declared, becoming slightly angry with her friend.
Faith shook her head in disagreement.
"He has to have some sort of special training," the brunette insisted. "He has to have some sort of advantage."
"When Fred and Dawn get home they're going to tell you the same thing I've been saying," Willow told her. "They're going to tell you that you're making too much of this. You know you are Faith."
"I have to find out what his advantage is," was the only reply she got. Willow rolled her eyes, shaking her head once more at her friend.
"What are you going to do?" she asked with a laugh. "Follow him around? Join up in the WWE just to get the same special training?"
Willow let out another giggle at her own statement, stopping when Faith didn't join her for a laugh. Instead, the brunette had a contemplative look on her face.
"Faith, it was a joke," Willow pleaded with her friend. "Let's not do anything crazy."
"It's not crazy," Faith brushed off. "It's a great idea. No wonder you're the smart one Red."
And with that, the brunette raced off to her bedroom, a determined look on her face. Willow could only watch her go, hanging her head in defeat.
"If I'm so smart, why do I feel so stupid right now?"
~*~Part Two~*~
"She's lost her mind."
Dawn Summers shook her head, staring at disbelief at the distant bouncing figure of the Slayer. Faith was ignoring her three friends, whistling happily to herself as she packed all their bags. Faith had decided on a course of action to stop her nose dive into mediocrity, as she liked to call it. And she had given the other girls no real
say in the matter.
"Faith, this is insane," Winifred Burkle tried pleading with her friend. "I mean, Angel is going to lose it on us for doing this. He'll like protest or something."
Faith scoffed, waving off the other brunette's concern.
"He can't tell me what to do," the Slayer laughed. "At least, he won't be able to. I'm not telling him until we leave."
Fred just stared at her friend in exasperation.
"If he was capable of it, you would give that boy a heart attack."
Dawn had been listening closely to the exchange, brightening as a thought hit her.
"You know, Buffy probably won't like the dramatic change in address either," Dawn offered. "And she'll probably like this idea of yours less. If she finds out, she's going to flip."
That stopped Faith right in her tracks. She turned to the younger girl, looking thoughtfully at her.
"So you want to go?"
"Hell yeah!" Dawn laughed, jumping up to help Faith.
"Dawnie!" came the collective whine from both Willow and Fred. The little blonde just stuck her tongue out at them.
"One, it pisses off Buffy, two it sounds like fun," Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "And there's no real reason not to go. I mean, not like we're all attached to Oregon or anything."
"Face it Red, we've got no roots here," Faith added. "I mean, we work in a diner. I'm sure the truckers will miss the opportunity to smack our asses, but they'll probably miss the part where I break their hands less. We're going nowhere here Red. There's nothing stopping us from doing this."
"Just because we can up and move doesn't mean we should," Willow stomped her foot in irritation. "This is completely insane! Faith, you're being insane!"
"You've already made your point," Faith snorted. "You think I'm crazy, but you're not seeing things from my perspective."
"God, there is nothing to see," Willow threw her hands up in the air and glared at the ceiling. "You had a bad night. You were lucky that that guy helped you out. Faith, it was nothing bad on your part!"
"You just don't understand witch," Faith sighed.
"I know I don't understand Slayer," Willow rolled her eyes. "Therein lies the problem. It wasn't about you or your ability. You are not losing your Slayer powers."
"Oh, you just don't get it!" Faith huffed, throwing some packed bags in the direction of the apartment door. "It isn't all about me and the fighting ability that I'm losing. This is great on so many levels. I get to brush up on some of my skills, which after tonight I can say have gotten rusty, and we can travel lots. Think about it, travelling all over the place and spreading the slaying as we go. It's a great idea."
And with that, the brunette let herself into Willow and Fred's room, pulling their clothes into bags and suitcases. Willow watched her with an irritated look on her face. Fred just sighed, shaking her head.
"This would be funny if it wasn't so annoying," the Texan lamented. "It's like she's going through some sort of Slayer mid-life crisis."
"But she's not!" Willow shouted in the direction of her bedroom. "She's just plain insane!"
"And she's getting no help with the packing," came Faith's reply. "Would you two come and be helpful?"
Fred sighed once more, getting to her feet and making her way to the room. Willow gave a squeak of protest at that, staring at the slight brunette in shock.
"Fred!" the redhead declared. "You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I am," Fred assured her. "But I think the decision has been made for us."
"But it's two against two," Willow fumbled. "It's a tie. No majority has been achieved. No decision made!"
"But it's Faith," Dawn jumped in. "She's the Slayer, and her vote kind of counts for more. Because you know, she could hurt us."
Willow gave an angry shriek.
"Fighting does not solve anything. Violence is not the answer!" the redhead declared.
"It is if you ask the right question," Faith chirped from the room. "Now stop whining Willow. We're going to the WWE, its final."
"What if we don't get in?" Willow demanded suddenly. "What if they reject us?"
"No harm in trying," Dawn shrugged. "And if we don't get in, we'll go somewhere else and set up shop. Not like we're doing anything of grand importance here. I mean, face it Willow, do you want to be doomed to being underpaid waitresses until Buffy feels that the Hellmouth is safe for us once more?"
"No," Willow relented. "But I still think this is a bad idea."
"Duly noted," Faith nodded. "But still not caring."
Willow fumed silently as the Slayer went back to packing up her things. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I am so not happy with any of you right now."
~*~Part Three~*~
***Six months later***
"This is going to end bad."
Lita nodded, sending her friend Trish a wane smile. The blonde smiled back at her briefly, eyes going back to the monitor in front of the redhead. Lita sighed, turning back to the screen as well. Her eyes flicked briefly over to the seated figures of Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Edge. The three men sat side by side on the locker room bench, their eyes never leaving the monitor for a second.
The redhead shook her head as she watched the going-ons in the ring. Eric Bischoff had kicked off SmackDown by going down to the ring and bad-mouthing Stephanie McMahon. Ever since the brands had been reunited, Eric and Stephanie had been locked down in a bit of a power struggle. Vince had announced before the brands could be joined again that he wouldn't have need for two General Managers in the future. Only one of the two would stay on as Commissioner. And Eric
was doing his damnedest to make sure that person wasn't Stephanie.
The brunette woman had interrupted his spiel not too far in, going down to ringside and slapping the taste out of Eric's mouth before he got too far. And that's when Vince joined the two warring GMs in the ring.
Things weren't looking too good for the Stephanie, and for the first time ever, Lita couldn't help but feel bad about it. Stephanie was a good GM and would make a better Commissioner than Eric any day. But unfortunately, Eric had a slight in with Vince. They were both pigs. Vince liked Eric above all else for his treatment of the divas in the WWE. And Stephanie for her part, well, she tended to treat the girls with a bit more respect. Which might end up costing her the position of Commissioner in the long run.
"He's actually going to chose Eric isn't he?" Trish whispered in defeat, as Stephanie looked on in horror as her father shook hands with Bischoff. Lita bit her lip, feeling really disappointed.
"It looks like it," the redhead sighed. Edge scowled at that, frowning at the television screen.
"Steph doesn't deserve that," he spat out. "She's a good GM, way better than Eric ever was."
"No disagreement here," Matt muttered. "Why do you think I jumped ship?"
"Because you were having a brief spout of Asshole-itis?" Jeff offered, eyes never leaving the monitor. Matt rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"There was that as well," the elder Hardy consented. Lita turned, giving her ex-boyfriend, and once again friend a smile.
"At least you got over it," she chirped back cheerfully. "Now I don't want to kick your ass all the time."
"Thanks heaven for that," Matt grinned back at her.
"What did Steph just say?" Trish interrupted, moving closer to the screen. Lita frowned, noting that during her exchange with Matt, Stephanie had said something. Something important from the reaction of all the people around her. For the first time since her father made his way down the ramp, the brunette had a triumphant smile on her face.
"She said she was going to prove that she was the Commissioner Vince wants," Edge offered everyone, leaning forward. "I wonder what she's up to?"
Trish shook her head, eyes narrowing as the camera did a close up of Eric.
"Whatever it is, it better be good."
~*~*~
"I know Daddy, I know what it is you're looking for."
Stephanie paused at that, tossing her father her best little girl smile. Vince remained neutral, an eyebrow raised at his daughter. It would appear to the outside world that he was unimpressed, but Stephanie knew better. Her dad was waiting on her, he knew she had something good.
"I mean, the Commissioner you need has to be innovative," Stephanie continued. "And I think I proved that during my time as SmackDown GM. And the Commissioner has to be tough, which I also proved to be. But most importantly, the Commissioner has to improve the company."
At that, she paused once more, giving her dad a knowing grin. Eric was starting to look a bit nervous, and Stephanie couldn't blame him. She had the bastard now, and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Now Daddy, I've been looking for ways to improve this company," she started up again. "And in light of what Eric has done to RAW and numerous divisions, I think I have a lot of work to do. He's eliminated the Hardcore belt, which was a huge fan favourite-"
She was cut off by the screams of the fans at that. Vince nodded, shooting Eric a bit of a glare at that. The man just gulped, offering his boss a nervous smile.
"And he got rid of two other belts, the European belt and the Intercontinental belts," Stephanie continued. "And those were your belts Daddy. You created them and you made them so important to the wrestlers and the fans, and he got rid of them."
The fans were booing at Eric now, Vince giving him a death glare as his daughter continued to make her case.
"But me? I made new titles," Stephanie laughed. "I created a tag team division in my own company, something that brought ratings up. I made matches that these people wanted to see, made decisions that these people wanted to hear, and in short Daddy, I know what they want. And I know what you want."
Stephanie stopped again, positively smirking now. Her father was still rather collected in the ring, not having said one word since she began talking. Eric looked about ready to piss his pants and Stephanie couldn't help the snicker that escaped her lips at that moment.
"And if you make me Commissioner Daddy, you and I both know that I will make this company better," the brunette informed her father. "And I know that you would probably want some sort of display of this, and I arranged for that Daddy. And if you make me Commissioner, my first act will be to bring in four new additions to
our talent!"
The fans exploded in cheers while her father calmly reached for a microphone.
"What kind of talent?" he asked. Stephanie grinned wider, motioning for someone backstage. Lights went out in the arena at that, and for a few moments stayed like that. A harsh beat came out of the speakers, a tune that seemed vaguely familiar to a lot of people.
The lights finally came back on, and there were more people in the ring. Vince's eyes bulged in happiness as he took in the four female wrestlers standing behind his daughter. Two brunettes, one redhead, and one blonde. One brunette and the redhead were clad in skin tight leather pants and tank tops. The other brunette and the blonde settled for halter tops and clingy skirts. They weren't intimidating to look at, very small all of them in fact. But there was a hint of danger in their eyes, something that made chills crawl up and down your spine.
"I'm sure you recognize them Daddy," Stephanie spoke again. "I heard that you were ogling them in the indies. And I'm telling you, that if you make me Commissioner right here and now, these girls will become members of the WWE immediately!"
Vince looked very pleased with his daughter. Eric was sputtering somewhere behind him, but Vince waved him off.
"Do you have anything to bring to the table Eric?" Vince asked, eyes never leaving the four women with his daughter. "I doubt that any of it would match up with this, but I'm willing to hear you out."
But Eric had nothing, and he knew it. Vince tore his eyes from the wrestlers favouring his daughter with a proud grin. Stephanie just smiled back smugly, linking arms with the redhead on her left side. Vince gave a laugh and brought the microphone to his lips.
"Well I guess that settles it," the owner of the WWE laughed. "Eric, get your butt out of this arena. I found my new Commissioner."
The fans erupted in more cheers as Stephanie and her new wrestlers celebrated in the ring. Eric was stunned, trying to plead with Vince. But the owner just waved him off, motioning for security lest Eric put up a fight. And so Stephanie got the joy of watching the man be carried forcibly out of the arena.
It was her time now.
~*~*~
"All right!" Trish enthused, giving Lita a huge hug. "The asshole is gone!"
"And there are hot new divas!" both Matt and Jeff put in, grins splitting their faces as well. Both women frowned at that, Lita shaking her head at the Hardys.
"Men," she scoffed, eyes going to the only quiet member of the locker room. "Edge?"
The blonde man looked up at the sound of his name, squinting as he tried to focus on Lita.
"You okay?" she asked hesitantly. He nodded frantically, jumping to his feet and heading to the door.
"Going to go congratulate Steph," he offered in explanation before slipping out. Everyone else in the room stilled at his exit, Trish frowning at her friends.
"Is it me, or is he acting weirder than usual?" she asked. Lita shrugged her shoulders, starting to feel a bit concerned.
"He looked almost shocked," the redhead mused. "I thought he would be happy that Steph got the job."
Matt shrugged, running a hand through his hair.
"What are you going to do? The man is weird sometimes."
~*~*~
Edge could hardly believe his eyes. He thought he had been mistaken when she first appeared in the ring. But then he had seen the redhead with her, letting him know that it was impossible that he had been wrong. It was her, that rather strange girl from six months ago in Oregon. The one he had saved from a mugger to find out she might be insane. There had been something wrong with the girl, that's for sure. But he wasn't sure what it was. And he figured he didn't need to know after he left her apartment.
But she was here, in the WWE. Strange since the last thing he had said to her had been about working in the WWE. After she demanded an answer about his work. Which all worked out to be a hell of a coincidence. So that begged the question. Was she here just out of fluke? Or worse.
Was she following him?
**********************************
TBC