In which Stan warms up to fight Kevin RyanCarrWeber

Kevin, of all the titleholders, was the most discriminating when it came to whom he would defend his jacket against. He generally only fought against lighter lightweights - of whom there were few, or heavier jobbers whom his posse often weakened before the match. Newcomer Stan met the former requirement, by one pound, and Kevin was sure his inexperience would work to Kevin's advantage. So Kevin, privately, challenged Stan to challenge him for the jacket.

Stan was thrilled to find out that his first match in TW would be for the lightweight title... he started working out and training doubly-hard with his friend, Michael, also new to TW. They spent hours that week drilling all the moves they knew, and teaching themselves some they'd only seen. By the time Saturday came around, the rookie was nervous but confident that he had a chance, as long as Kevin's posse didn't get involved - which they weren't supposed to be able to in title matches. Unfortunately for his comfort level, "supposed to" were the words that kept running through Stan's mind.Kevin was glad about his opponent. On paper, they were well-matched. Stan was actually a bit more muscular, in the wiry way young teens are. But Kevin had full confidence in his talent - and he wanted this match to prove that he was not to be taken lightly. And to remind the self-dubbed Heels that HIS was the faction to be reckoned with in TW, because HE was the league's greatest talent. And he would prove that by totally squashing Stan in an (almost) clean match. That is to say, the match itself would be clean. But Stan would have the "advantage" of getting to "warm up" before the match with Cody.

Stan was in awe when Cody offered to help him warm up while Frank was fighting Dane, and terrified when "show you a few moves" became "kick your little ass." Cody started out sweet as pie, showing Stan how to get out of various holds which he applied lightly. Then he showed Stan how to apply those same holds so they couldn't be escaped. It really was very useful, until Cody suggested they have a just-for-fun match to try out some of those holds. Stan was nervous, but Cody reassured him, "oh come on, I'll go light - I don't want you to be tired for your match with Kevin." Cody then proceeded to flatten Stan against a row of lockers and pound twenty punches into his thin gut. "Good warm-up, eh?" Cody said, as he butt-stomped the lightweight's chest and left him lying dazed on the floor.

Stan was still groggy when he heard himself announced over the PA system: "In his first match for TW, at fourteen years old, five feet eight inches tall and weighing in at 127 pounds, Stan!" Stan got a very warm reception, which bolstered his spirit somewhat, even though he knew the crowd was cheering more against Keven than for him. Kevin was introduced next, at 14, 5'6" and 128. He came down alone - unheard of for him - and bounded into the ring over the top rope. He looked as youthful, confident and in-control as ever, which was the problem with Kevin. Manipulative as he was, he oozed that charm available only to fourteen year old boys, and with it almost always got what he wanted.

The bell rang and the two lightweights circled, Stan noticeably favoring his abs while Kevin moved with the gait of someone sure this would be quick and easy. The blond teen bounced off the ropes, testing them, loosening up a bit, trying to distract Kevin. Kevin just watched. Stan rushed forward suddenly, attempting a clothesline. Kevin ducked under it and plowed his fist into Stan's aching abs. The audience wondered at Kevin's strength, as Stan crumpled to the mat from the blow to his tenderized gut. Kevin smiled and pulled Stan to his feet by his short blond hair. Stan finally realized that he had been too wowed by the heavyweight champion to remember that Cody worked for Kevin. He was regretting it now.

Kevin threw the boy into the ropes and lifted a knee to his gut on the return, which caused Stan to flip to the canvas. The teen was doubled over, and Kevin took his sweet time flattening Stan out on his back. The champion measured a shot, and then slammed a fist down into the boy's gut. It wasn't nearly as strong as Cody's had been, but thanks to Cody's it didn't have to be. Stan knew he had to fight back. He tried to ignore the pain radiating from his abs and when Kevin bent over again to pull him up, Stan grabbed th back of the champ's head and slammed his face to the mat. Stan rolled over to the ropes, which he used to pull himself up, while Kevin lay dazed on the mat.
Stan ran at Kevin, leaping with an elbow intended for the lightweight's chest. Kevin moved, though, and Stan's elbow smashed painfully on the mat. Kevin was still dazed, and when he came to Stan with a blow to the head, the blond hit him right back. The ref soon gave up warning about closed-fist hits as the lightweights slugged it out. It looked as though Stan was getting the upper hand, but then Kevin broke from the punches and slammed a kick into the boy's abs. Stan doubled over and Kevin pulled his head between his legs. The champ wrapped his arms around Stan's waist, swung him up fast and powerbombed him to the mat. Stan was beat.

And Kevin knew it, but he was making a point. He pulled Stan to his feet and into a front-facelock. Taking a handfull of the blond boy's shorts, Kevin lifted him up for a suplex, held him for ten full seconds, and then fell forward with him, slamming Stan's chest and gut on the mat as hard as he could. Stan rolled over from the pain, and Kevin took his ankles and turned the boy right back over into a Boston Crab, pouring on the pressure by sitting as far back as he could, and stretching the boy's back to its limit. Stan's abs were on fire, as they, too were stretched. Kevin kept inching back and down until Stan was stretched so far that he felt Kevin's ass pressing lightly on the back of his neck. The ref was asking for a submission.

But he wouldn't give it, couldn't. He was in intense pain, but he couldn't make this poor a showing in his first match! He had underestimated Kevin, true. And he had trusted the wrong heavyweight, true. But he had to at least last fifteen minutes! So he held on, and eventually Kevin, a slight smile accross his face, gave up the crab. Stan was face-down on the mat and Kevin dragged him by his ankles to a corner. Getting outside, Kevin pulled Stan so one leg was on each side of the steel post, and yanked him into it, crushing the boy's crotch on the pole. Stan wailed in agony, but Kevin held him there momentarily before letting the blond ball up.

Kevin ducked into the ring for a second to stop the count, and then pulled Stan out behind him. He lifted Stan from behind into position for a slam, and then rammed the boy's gut into the same steel pole. Stan winced and whimpered as the blow fell, relieved for the respite being dropped unceremoniously on the cement floor provided. Kevin again restarted the count. He pulled Stan up, and pushed him forward into the ring, so that the edge of the mat slammed into his thin and demolished gut. Finally, Kevin rolled Stan back into the ring and followed him in.

Kevin had wanted to do this for weeks - finish a match like several of the heavyweights did. Now, with Stan in the position he was, Kevin could finish it whenever and however he wanted. He climbed to the top rope, and splashed down upon the blond, hooking the leg for a pin he stopped at two. Dragging Stan to his feet, Kevin Irish whipped him into a corner and followed with a shoulder-block to the abs, driving Stan to sitting on the second turnbuckle. Another ram to the gut, and Stan could take it no more. For the first time in TW, a submission was made by someone not in a submission hold. Stan wailed his submission. Kevin was as stunned as everyone else, and disappointed and upset. He grabbed Stan's hair and flipped him, by it, to the center of the ring. Ascending to the top rope, Kevin leapt and slammed an elbow into Stan's gut."You're done when I say you are," Kevin sneered. He repeated the front-suplex and performed one final powerbomb before pinning the boy and raising his arms in victory. He signaled for the crowd to be quiet and yelled, "this was just a reminder to everyone. I may not be a heavyweight, but *I* am the number one heel in this league... And we," he said, as his posse emerged from the changing area, "are the faction that will bring the reckoning to Teens Wrestling. Don't forget that, you oversized shits." With that, he spat on Stan's prone form, and walked through his posse and out of the building, leaving his group of thugs to do whatever they wanted to Stan. The beating that ensued, while short (for it was soon broken up by other wrestler) was worse than anything Stan'd experienced so far, and not at all pretty.

Stan was barely conscious when Tyson, Brett, Rusty and Martin climbed into the ring. The heavyweight pulled Stan to his feet and into a tight full nelson, opening him up to be punched, stomped and generally beaten by the other three. He tried to resist, but the four had as much trouble overpowering him as they would have had overpowering a rhododendron. They totally manhandled him, passing him back and forth between them while they took turns pounding, slamming, powerbombing and stomping him.

Rusty climbed to the top rope, and splashed his 200+ pounds down on the lightweight, remaining there as Martin, Tyson and Brett piled on top of him. There they stayed, relaxing humiliatingly on top of the destroyed lightweight until several organizers chased them off and helped Stan back to the lockerroom. The lightweight dressed, slowly, dismayed at the loss, but hopefully wondering whether, without Cody's intervention before the match, Kevin would have had such an easy time keeping his championship jacket. Certainly, the match would have lasted longer.

As he was leaving, Stan noticed Cody lifting weights in the small gym off the changing area. The heavyweight was alone, so Stan walked over to him. Cody didn't even look at the lightweight, partly out of annoyance at having to have the conversation that was coming, and partly from the resulting guilt. "What?"

"Why do you work with the posse? I know, I know... you're not one of 'Kevin's Boys,' I've heard that... but why did you..."

"Kick your ass before the match?" Cody looked over at Stan, who nodded, silently. The champ thought for a moment, the bar barely resting on his chest as he held it in the down position. The lightweight, he thought, had balls to come talk to him like this. And to still be standing, he had to be tough. Cody exhaled, barely loudly enough to qualify as a sigh. "I owed Kevin a favor." Stan still looked disapproving, but said nothing more, and left.