"A Millennium Surprise" (Parts 1 - 5)
Part 1: The Request
June 1999
“Are you kidding?! No way…there is no way I can do that! How…can, I mean, jeez, why?” D-Lo Brown looked confused. Why had Vince McMahon just asked him to do the unthinkable? D-Lo had no idea why Vince wanted him to risk his popularity and possibly, his career. What Vince was asking was asking of him was even worse than if he turned heel again.
“D-Lo, D-Lo just calm down for a minute and think about this. Those Internet rumors about you executing your 90-day clause of your contract keep persisting. Everyone thinks you are heading to WCW. I say, let it happen.” Vince uttered this with that all-knowing smile (more like a smirk to the casual observer).
“But Vince, you know I want to stay with the WWF. This is my home. This is where my fans are, where my friends are. How can you tell me to go to WCW?”
“Let me finish, D-Lo. I want you to go to the WCW as a spy.”
“What? As a spy? A spy for what?”
“A spy for me. A spy for the WWF. In fact, a spy and a saboteur. I want you to help destroy the WCW from the inside out.” Vince leaned back in his custom leather high-back chair and continued to form into words the plan swimming in his head. “I want to send you Price Albert to the WCW. Since you two are friends, I want you to lobby Russo to set you two up as a tag team. That way, you are free to talk to each other. In fact…hold on.” Vince presses the button on his intercom. “Lisa, have someone find Prince Albert and have him come to my office right away.” Turning back to D-Lo, he continued. “It is better if I explain this to the two of you together.”
About five minutes later, Prince Albert arrives at Vince’s office. “Vince, you wanted to see me? Hey, D-Lo, what are you doing here?”
D-Lo answered, “You’ll find out in a minute.”
Vince leaned forward in his chair and placed his clasped hands on his mahogany desk. “Albert, I wanted you and D-Lo here together because I need your help.” Vince proceeded to tell Albert that he wants him and D-Lo to join WCW as a tag team. “Now, here is my plan. Since you two will be ‘disgruntled’ former employees of the WWF, you have an ‘in’ with Russo and Ferrera. They will want to know the upcoming angles you knew about before you left. Now, here,” Vince handed D-Lo and Albert copies of fake angles for them to memorize. “These are angles I want you to tell Russo about. Now, don’t laugh as you read them, because they are beyond bad. But, Russo is always the opportunist. However bad an angle is, if he can do it first, he’ll do it.”
As the two wrestlers read the fake angles, Vince continued on about the plan. “Now, this is going to take some time. The wrestlers there have a hard time trusting ex-WWFers, especially those who have never been in WCW before. But, because of the Internet rumors, D-Lo, you should be accepted pretty easily in the locker room. Albert, D-Lo will play up your friendship with him to get you in as well. Now, along with the fake angles to give to Russo, I want you to do something else. Since Russo likes to take credit for things he didn’t really do, start complimenting him on things. Especially you D-Lo, I want you to give him credit for everything from the Nation of Domination all the way to you winning both the Intercontinental and the European belts in the same night. Albert, tell him you wished you had more of a chance to shine under his talents…blah blah blah.”
D-Lo, still confused asked, “Vince, why the hell do you want us to kiss Russo’s ass?”
“I’m getting to it, hold on. The reason for all the ass kissing is for you two to get an in with Russo and get on the booking team. If he likes you, he lets you book. This is where the big strikes will come. The two of you will book ok at first, then a little worse, and then even worse, and then just horrible. All of this booking you will get from me, when you check in every other day.” He opens one of his desk drawers and takes out two cell phones. “Here, each of you take one. Use these for anything, and they are programmed with a direct number to me that no one else has. When you call, an answering machine will pick up. It will be a message from a copy service. I will pick up as soon as I hear either of your voices…anytime, day or night.”
This time, Prince Albert spoke up. “Vince, I hate to ask, but…what’s in it for us? I mean, by us jumping ship, we will lose our fans and people will start to forget us. Tell us why we should do this?”
“I was waiting for that question. I know wrestling fans are fickle, Albert. They do tend to forget you. But, I will guarantee you that as soon as you are finished with your ‘mission,’ you will both be pushed as hard and as fast as possible. Especially when we reveal what you have done for the past few months when you come back. Because of what you will do to WCW, you will end up being as popular as the Rock! Also, for your trouble, you will both get $500,000 in addition to your current salary for this. So, what do you say?”
Weighing their options, both present and future, D-Lo and Albert looked at each other and in unison blurted, “WE’LL TAKE IT!”
Vince laughed and said “I thought so. Well boys, welcome to WWF Espionage.” He took the two of them to the contract room to finalize their contract releases, the immediate press releases, and the rest of the details.
Part 2: The Set-up
September 1999
A warm breeze blew by D-Lo and Prince Albert as they stepped off the plane at the Atlanta International airport. Before they had a chance to set down their bags, a man in a black suit carrying a black hat approached them. “Mr. Brown, Prince Albert sir, I am here to take you to WCW headquarters.” It was the limousine driver.
“Oh. Cool. We were just about to go and find a rental and find the building ourselves,” D-Lo said with a confused look. “We weren’t expecting to be picked up.”
“Mr. Russo explicitly said for you to be picked up in a limousine and brought directly to his office.”
“Ok. Well then, lead on man, lead on.” Albert and D-Lo picked up their bags and followed the driver to a black stretch limo. On the way to the WCW headquarters, both wrestlers stared out the window, taking in the sight of the immense buildings of downtown Atlanta. About an hour after they left the airport, they finally arrived at WCW. Taking their luggage, the driver lead them through building security, up the elevator to the 14th floor, and down the hall to Vince Russo’s office.
Knocking, the driver said, “Mr. Russo? D-Lo Brown and Prince Albert have arrived.”
Without looking, Russo replied, “Send them in. Thank you, Harold. That will be all for now.” With that, the driver ushered D-Lo and Albert in, and promptly left. After about a minute, Russo stopped typing, looked away from his computer, and faced the two wrestlers. Standing up, he offered his hand. “Mr. Brown, Prince Albert, welcome to WCW.”
Both men shook Russo’s hand and sat down. D-Lo began. “Thank you Mr. Russo, for the chance to work with you again. Things just haven’t been the same since you left WWF. That’s why I needed to get out. The push you were giving me fell flat two weeks after you left.” D-Lo decided to start buttering Russo up from the start. In fact, he decided to play up some desperation when talking to Russo. “For my career, I want to be in an organization that values me. I am a hard-worker Mr. Russo, you know that. The same goes for Prince Albert. He’s gotten a raw deal too.”
“Yes, he has…as have you D-Lo. I want to change that. The two of you are both young and extremely promising. I see a great future for you here at WCW. Oh, and please…call me Vince.” The three of them finalized contracts and began discussing possible angles for D-Lo and Albert to be involved in. “So, can you tell me what McMahon had planned for you for the next while?”
D-Lo and Albert both thought to themselves, “this is it…lets start shoveling the shit in Russo’s direction. Let’s watch him eat it up.” Both men started rifling through their backpacks until they found their story angle sheets. This time, Albert spoke up. “Well Vince, I don’t think we were supposed to keep these. These were given to us before we executed our clauses. If you don’t want to look at these, you don’t have to. These sheets reveal all the wrestlers’ angles from December until WrestleMania 2000 in March. I understand if you—“ Vince just smiled as he interrupted Albert.
“No, no. Please, let me see these. This may help me see the direction you were heading in the WWF. Then, I can try to capitalize on your current storylines, so your fans will turn and follow you to WCW.” Vince thought he’d covered well. No one needed to know how desperate he was for ideas. Turner has been riding his ass to increase ratings and show attendance. So far, he knew, he hadn’t done a very good job. Both men handed over the sheets and studied Russo’s face. At first, he looked confused, but then he started to smile. “Well, well…McMahon certainly is adventurous. A big push for the females? Giving belts to newcomers? Chyna is a permanent valet to Viscera? Are you serious?”
D-Lo responded, “Yes, Mr. McMahon wanted to shock the audience. It looks like the fans are tired of the same old people winning the titles. Mr. McMahon wanted to shake things up.”
“Well, it certainly looks like he is going to shake things up. Boys, I think I can use this to my advantage. Thank you very much. Give me until tomorrow, and I will write you both into Monday’s Nitro for walk-ons. Establish you a little. Oh, and I know you both expressed a desired to be a tag team. Well, you got it. In fact, I think I will call you ‘The Real Deal,’ at least for now. Come by my office tomorrow for your scripts. See ya later, and again welcome to WCW.”
D-Lo and Albert were then escorted back to the limo and driven to Atlanta Marriott, where a Mustang Convertible rental was waiting for them. Once they got into their room, they decided to check in with Vince McMahon. Prince Albert dialed the number waited for the machine. “It’s Albert.” Vince immediately picked up the phone. “Yeah…we gave him the sheets. He seemed confused at first…but D-Lo covered. Then, he ate it all up, just like you said. Within a couple of weeks, WCW should be on a downhill slide…FAST.” With that, Albert hung up, popped off his shoes, and settled down to watch T.V.
Part 3: “The Real Deal” Get A Partner
3 days later – Monday Nitro
“Welcome back to Monday Nitro, folks. We’re in the middle of a match between Kidman and Rey vs. Kanyon and Saturn. Uh-oh…Rey with a drop kick right to Kanyon’s head! Wait a minute…Kidman, Kidman, Kidman! He’s on the top rope…OH MY GOD! Shooting star press…right on Kanyon! The referee is trying to get up, after being knocked down by Saturn. What the – what? Who is this coming down to the ring? There seems to be two men and, and a WOMAN!”
As the announcer was shouting, D-Lo and Prince Albert rushed the ring along with their new partner/valet. Russo sprang this on D-Lo and Albert right before they were to run down to the ring. In fact, Russo just hired the woman that afternoon…giving her no time to meet her partners. Russo just said, “here, she’s coming with you…just call her Athena.” Then, the three ran out to disrupt the match.
D-Lo, Albert, and Athena reached the ring and immediately set to destroy the other four wrestlers. Albert took on Saturn, D-Lo took on Kanyon, and (believe it or not) Athena took on both Kidman and Rey. Within seconds, Saturn was thrown over the top rope and down to the floor. Kanyon was given the lowdown, and lay sprawled on the ring mat. Athena just took care of Rey and Kidman with a double reverse DDT. With that the crowd goes wild…now recognizing D-Lo and Prince Albert. The three unexpected wrestlers climb onto the ring posts, raising their fists in triumph.
“Betcha y’all didn’t expect that, huh?,” D-Lo shouted. “Well, expect the unexpected…or else your sorry ass gonna be out on the street!” Turning to the audience, he continued. “Ya see, where we came from, me and Albert, we weren’t treated right. There was always some reason for holdin’ us BACK! Well, not anymore…we won’t be takin’ that shit from NOBODY!” Prince Albert continues now, “That’s right. We plan to OWN the WCW! Anyone who tries to stop us will learn the meaning on pain. ‘Cause we are THE REAL DEAL!!!!” With that, the D-Lo, Albert, and Athena leapt out of the ring and walked up the ramp and out of sight.
The Nitro announcer tried to explain what he just saw. “Uh, uh…what you just saw folks was totally unexpected. Apparently, D-Lo Brown and Prince Albert have invaded Monday Nitro, calling themselves ‘The Real Deal.’ As for that woman, I have no idea who she is. I have never seen her before. That’s all I can say, folks. We’ll give you more details on the WCW Hotline when they become available.
After Nitro was over, Russo gathered all the wrestlers, including D-Lo, Albert, and Athena into the locker room. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the newest members of the WCW family…D-Lo Brown, Prince Albert, and Athena. I would have told all of you sooner, but I didn’t want the news getting out. I wanted the audience to be totally surprised. Rey, Kidman, Kanyon, Saturn…thanks for being understanding. Now, see you all later, have a great night!”
For the next hour or so, D-Lo, Albert, and Athena were separated, talking to many of their new “teammates.” Everyone they talked to congratulated and welcomed them to the company…everyone secretly hoping this meant a ratings boost. Finally, the three of them were left alone. D-Lo spoke. “Well, I guess I should introduce myself, Athena. I’m D—.” Athena interrupted. “I know you are D-Lo Brown and you are Prince Albert. I have watched you guys since you started with WWF.” Looking around the locker room, Athena made sure no one else was around. “You guys, bring me to your hotel room. I have to talk to you about something that can’t be discussed here.” Although confused, the two men agreed and had Athena follow them to their hotel.
D-Lo and Albert’s hotel room.
Upon entering the hotel room, Athena immediately began talking. “Ok, you two. Now that we are alone, I can talk freely. I know you two are working for Mr. McMahon.” D-Lo and Albert’s eyes widened.
“What? We don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Cut the crap Albert. Vince McMahon told me. And, he hired me at Titan for me to help you two. I went directly from McMahon’s office and flew here to Atlanta to talk to Russo. He immediately signed me up, and just by happenstance, he told me to work with you two as a valet/wrestler. I am a friend of Ivory’s, having worked together in GLOW. Ivory talked to Vince, and the rest is history. I was actually supposed to be hired to work with Ivory…but Vince thought this was better.”
“Damn, girl. I was not expecting another ally in this plan. But, this is great. We are going to need all the help we can get. Welcome aboard!,” commented a relieved D-Lo.
“Thanks.” The three talked for a while getting to know Athena and vice versa. Athena ended up staying in their hotel room, considering she had nowhere to stay with everything happening so quickly. Albert, being the “prince” that he is was chivalrous and let Athena have his bed, while he slept on the floor. Just as they shut the light off to go to sleep, Athena mentioned something. “Hey, did you notice something strange? The only people left in the locker room after Russo spoke were mid-carders? All the main eventers, Goldberg, Hall, Nash, Bret Hart, etc, followed in a line behind Russo and left with him? That seemed kinda strange to me.”
D-Lo and Albert agreed, but shrugged it off. “Yeah, that is kind of strange. But, its probably that prima donna attitude. Maybe they don’t want to be associated with “lower level” wrestlers. They probably just want to be with their own kind.”
“Yeah, maybe. It just really seemed strange…what with them trailing Russo like puppies. I dunno…maybe they were just trying to kiss his ass for more airtime or something. It just seemed really strange – almost trance-like.”
“Eh…you’re probably reading too much into it, Athena. Just keep your eyes open and look for ways to chip away at WCW’s foundation. Vince is counting on us. Good night.” Albert finished.
An hour later, as D-Lo and Albert snored, Athena couldn’t help thinking about that strange scene in the locker room. “It just doesn’t seem right…,” she muttered under her breath as she fell asleep.
Part 4: The Discovery
Mid-December 1999
The last three months went like clockwork. Russo capitalized on the WWF’s future “storylines” by using them first on Nitro and Thunder. Russo made the least over tag team “Maestro and The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iukea” the champions. He gave the cruiserweight title belt to David Flair, and created insanely stupid gimmick matches. Bret Hart and Chris Benoit were involved in a Canadian Maple Leaf Syrup match – where the two contestants are doused in syrup and forced to wrestle each other. Perry Saturn’s gimmick changed from a pierced and tatooed rebel to that of a “man” from Saturn. The women of the WCW were pushed more than the men. Russo took away all the sexy outfits and allowed the women to actually wrestle – generating praise from the women wrestlers but drawing boos from the television audience. Because of all this, attendance was at an all-time low – WCW could not even fill an arena using comp tickets. Meanwhile, the WWF’s ratings skyrocketed. The first week of December Monday Night Raw scored an 8.0 while Monday Nitro scored a 1.5. The abysmal ratings prompted a visit from the billionaire himself…Ted Turner.
WCW Headquarters
With morale at an all-time low, most WCW wrestlers trained away from each other, considering that when the gym was packed a fight usually broke out. However, D-Lo, Prince Albert, and Athena always worked out together at the WCW training gym. One thing they noticed, though, is that despite the number of people that came in and out of the gym, they never once saw a main eventer. Not once in the 3 ½ months in WCW have they seen Goldberg, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Sid Vicious, Sting, or Lex Luger working out, roaming around the WCW headquarters, or roaming around the arena during a television taping. The only time the three saw any of the main eventers was when Russo would give his post-Monday Nitro pep talk, where afterwards, all the top stars would follow behind him like little obedient puppies, or zombies, depending on your point of view.
On Friday, the three partners arrived at WCW Headquarters for their morning workout. This time, though, they arrived earlier than usual – about 6 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. They walked into the building and to their surprise saw Russo walking with Ted Turner! Athena, ever the suspicious one, decided she wanted to hear what the two were talking about. “Hey…stay here. I want to find out what they are doing. Turner never comes here – Russo is the one that makes the trip to Turner Television.”
“Athena, be careful…we can’t afford for you to lose your job.” Athena nodded, smiled, and carefully began following Turner and Russo through the building. D-Lo and Albert, concerned about their friend and partner, decided to follow behind her. “Just in case – let’s follow her.”
Athena finally got close enough to hear part of Russo and Turner’s conversation. “Your ratings STINK, Russo. People are laughing at WCW. They are calling it Wheel Chair Wrestling or We Can’t Wrestle! What the hell is going on, Russo. What the hell are you doing, putting on matches like a Canadian Maple Leaf Syrup match! That is just bad Russo…no, that’s worse than bad.” Turner pinched his brow with his hands and continued, “I NEED YOU TO MAKE THIS COMPANY RESPECTED AND FEARED, RUSSO!!!!! OR ELSE MY PLAN DOESN’T WORK, AND YOUR ASS IS FIRED! Look, you have until December 30 to get things in shape. I don’t care if you have to work 24 hours a day…you will change things! You better hype the Millennium PPV – make sure people know that PPV matches will be wrestled in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, and Washington D.C. December 31, that a main event will also happen in each of these cities. I WANT THIS DONE NOW!” Russo solemnly nodded and the two began walking again. “Now, show me what you are doing with the men…every one of them must be ready and primed for the 31st.”
Athena, trying to process the information she just heard, kept following Russo and Turner. She saw them walk down a hallway and stop at an unmarked room. Russo began to speak, “Ted, the work on the men is going great. More features have been added, addition strength fibers have been introduced and they look to be ready for the 31st.” Russo unlocked the door, flipped the light switch, and ushered Turner inside. As they walked in…Athena, now joined by D-Lo and Albert quietly ran up to the door before it closed. Albert quickly grabbed a door stopper from another door and jammed it between the door and the frame – giving just enough entrance to see and hear Russo and Turner.
“What did you do with the first ones, the originals,” Turner inquired as he looked around the room, pleased with what he saw.
“The vitals have been harvested and what’s left has been disposed of. The brains have all been transformed and incorporated into the new bodies. These have been tested during Nitros over the last three months. The most grueling matches, and not a scratch or injury on them, Ted.”
“Ha ha ha, good good good! Keep it going Russo…I want them ready for the 31st! The country won’t know what hit them! Soon Russo, I will have exactly what I want…with you as my right hand man, of course,” Turner said laughing under his breath. “I have made preparations for the President and Vice President to be at the Washington D.C. part of the PPV. So, make sure those men included in the main events give them something EXTRA special. I expect results, Russo.” With that, he began to walk out.
Seeing Turner coming toward them, Athena, D-Lo, and Albert ran down an adjoining hallway turning until they finally got to the gym. Turner, seeing the door stopper between the frame and the door asked Russo, “did you put this here?”
Russo walked over and saw the stopper. “I don’t remember if I did or not. Eh, I probably did. Anyway, its nothing.”
“It had better be nothing, Russo. I don’t want anything screwing this up.” Turner walked out of the room, and headed down the hallway and toward the exit.
“Absolutely, Mr. Turner.” To himself, Russo muttered, “I know I didn’t put that there…who the hell did?” With that, he walked out and caught up with Turner. They passed by the gym and noticed D-Lo, Albert, and Athena working out.
“Ha! Now that’s what I like to see…dedication among our workers. Who are they, Russo?”
“That’s Prince Albert, Athena, and D-Lo Brown. They’ve been here about three months. They are three of the only people besides the main eventers who get a positive crowd response. They are great workers.”
“Hmmm…keep them around. I may have use for them later.” Turner shook Russo’s hand and walked down the hallway and through the exit.
Back in the gym, Albert, D-Lo, and Athena could barely speak. “I-, I-, I- can’t believe what we just saw. Goldberg, Sting, Luger, Nash, Hall, Jarrett, Hart, Sid, Hogan, and Savage doing connected to some funky-ass machines. What am I saying…that wasn’t them at all, man. Those were machines!”
Athena chimed in, “You heard what Russo said. He got rid of the originals…that means that they are all DEAD! THEY’RE BRAINS WERE HARVESTED, AND THEY’RE ALL DEAD!!” Athena started crying, and Albert hugged her.
“Calm down, Athena…we need to talk to McMahon. We have to tell him its not about ratings anymore.” Putting their workouts aside, the three cleaned up and returned to their Atlanta apartment, prepared to tell Vince of their discovery.
Part 5: The Waiting Game
The Hotel Room – That same night
Just as the three spies were about to call Vince McMahon about their horrifying discovery, Prince Albert hung up the phone. “You guys, we can’t call him about this yet.”
Athena, grabbing the phone from Albert, retorted, “we have to, Albert. We can’t let Turner get away with killing all of those men! We can’t let him get away with it.”
Prince Albert tried to continue, “Athena, we don’t even know what he is trying to do. If we go to Vince with this, he will do one of two things. He will either go ballistic, call the feds, and bust a blood vessel – and there is the chance that nothing could be found. Or, he will think we’re crazy, not believe us, and, worse case scenario, fire our asses and replace us! We can’t talk to Vince about this until we have proof.”
D-Lo, nodding his head, agreed with Albert. “Now that I have thought about it, I agree with Albert. We need some pictures or some documents that prove what we saw earlier today. Once we have that, we can go to Vince and get this over with. Only thing is…we have less than two weeks to get the proof, go to Vince, and get the proper authorities to arrest Turner.
Finally listening to reason, a scared and tired Athena, put the phone back into its cradle and flopped down on the bed. Putting her hands over her face, she said, exasperated, “I just wish we knew why he did this and what he was planning.”
Sitting down next to her and putting his arms around her, Albert sighed, “that’s the sixty-four million dollar question, Athena. Just what the hell is he planning.”
D-Lo got up from the armchair and began walking towards the door. “I don’t know what he is planning, guys. I think I am going to take a walk for a while and try to come up with a plan. We need to start this proof-gathering ASAP – tomorrow, no later. See you guys in an hour or so.” With that, he walked out of the hotel room, leaving Athena and Prince Albert in silence.
After five minutes, Athena broke the silence. “I’m scared, Albert. I don’t like feeling so out of control. Three hours ago, we had everything in control…we knew our roles in the system and were basically performing miracles. Nitro and Thunder were getting worse by the week! Now, I feel helpless…who knows what Turner was planning or if he is going to kill anyone else. We can’t go to Vince, because we have no proof…but, we can’t act like we never saw anything.” She begins to shake, “I don’t want to do this anymore, Albert. I don’t know if I can look at Russo without wanting to vomit.” She wrapped her arms around herself and began rocking back and forth.
Not knowing how to console her, Albert scooted towards her and held her. “We will think of something, Athena. I swear we will. Just lay down and try to get some sleep. I will be right here next to you on the couch…watching television.” He unwrapped his arms from around her, got up and went to the couch. A minute later, Athena rose and walked over to the bathroom where she promptly threw up…a catharsis for a trying and horrifying day.
Seeing what she had done, she thought, “Oh shit. I can’t start that up again. I have to keep myself in check. I can’t do it again. I will not let it overpower me…not this time.” But, feeling her stomach heave again…she gave in. All the sights she saw and emotions she felt emptied with the contents of her stomach. A couple minutes later, after brushing, flossing, and all that stuff, she exited the bathroom and returned to the main room. Her eyes immediately focused on Prince Albert…already asleep, his hand still grasping the television remote control. Feeling much more in control of herself, she gently took the remote control from his hand, placed it on the table and grabbed the extra blanket on the floor. She draped the blanket over Albert’s sleeping body and finally, in an end to an draining and exhausting day, slipped under the covers of her bed and let the night engulf her.
Athena dove into the cool, clear water hoping to release all the stress built-up in her muscles. As she swam, she stretched her arms as far as they could go…feeling the pressure exit her body. She could feel herself relax, her breathing slow into a normal steady pace, and her heart slow its pumping (despite the exercise). “I am in complete control,” she thought to herself. “Nothing can hurt me…I control my destiny.” She kept repeating this mantra as she swam around one of the large rocks on the Monterrey coast. Monterrey…the place of her family vacations as an adolescent. The last time she was here, her 18th birthday, she would rather forget. That time still deeply disturbed her, invading most of her waking moments…no matter how she fought to erase them. However, this day…she would let nothing but the cool, clear water overtake her.
She turned the corner around the jagged rock, and swam. She closed her eyes and felt the water rush over her. A minute later, she opened her eyes and was engulfed in redness. No longer was the water a clear blue, it was a deep red…blood red to be exact. She brought her head above water and still saw nothing but red. As soon as her eyes registered the sight, her nose registered the smell. That unmistakable metallic scent…but this one was different. Mixed with the metallic scent was one that was putrid and rotten…the smell of rotting flesh. Screaming, Athena frantically tried to swim to the shore. Despite her flailing arms, she couldn’t move. She was frozen in the bloody water…which before her eyes turned into a thick, red gelatinous ooze. At once it bubbled around her, and with each burst a noxious odor filled the air. The ooze began flowing, as if it was a river, out of a nearby water cave. Desperately trying to move to shore, she gave up when she saw what leaked out of the cave. There she saw the mangled rotting corpses of the WCW wrestlers she has seen at the headquarters. Frozen, she stared as the torso and legs of Macho Man Randy Savage drifted by her…still with his black tassled pants on. A leg brushed her, snapping her back to ‘reality.’ Again she tried to pull herself from the river, but to no avail. Then she saw Kevin Nash float by her…still intact except for the top of his head. His corpse was almost past her when she felt something grab her wrist. She turned around to find Nash clawing at her wrist…attempting to rip it from her arm. Without hesitation, she slammed her other fist into his face. But instead of knocking him back…her fist just sunk into his face, splitting it open and releasing more thick, red ooze. As it dripped down her arm and onto her neck and chest she heard a voice.
“Athena, you are powerless. You can’t stop me. You’re next.” She looked over and saw Ted Turner beckoning her to come to him. She screamed louder than she had ever screamed before.
Prince Albert, startled by the piercing scream, sat straight up, and realized it was Athena. Stumbling over the couch, he grabbed her flailing arms, waking her up. Athena, opened her eyes and began crying. “Oh my god…” Albert held her…until she broke from his embrace and ran to the bathroom. Once again, for the third time tonight, she emptied the contents of her stomach – which by now was nothing but bile – into the toilet. “What the hell is happening to me? I feel like I am 18 again. Why am I losing control? I can’t take it!” Again, she heaved and deposited more bile. With that, she slumped down onto her knees and wrapped her arms around the bowl, sobbing uncontrollably.
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