The lab has always her home away from home, a quiet place where the turmoil of her life comes to a screeching halt.   You could even call it, in a sense, her Fortress of Solitude.   Here, the woman best known to many of you as MsChif is hard at work, testing antibacterial strains against various viruses, and gauging their effects.   Here, away from the stress, the politics, the back-biting and the constant bickering, MsChif is, once again, at peace with her life.

Six weeks ago, after receiving a letter from WWE asking her to show up in Cleveland to discuss her possibly coming to WWE, she had found that the letter itself was a ruse, and that she, along with Allison Danger, Amazing Kong, Cheerleader Melissa, Daizee Haze, Kellie Skater, the International Home Wrecking Crew, the Canadian Ninjas, and Sara Del Rey, had actually been drafted into WWE’s NXT Competition.   Upon that realization, MsChif decided to make the most of the opportunity, and remained in the competition despite the dubious nature in which she came to be a part of it.   For six weeks, through mindless immunity challenges and constant bickering, MsChif did the best she could to hold it together, to not go crazy and start randomly attacking anyone foolish enough to get in her path.   Unfortunately, her resolve shattered in Week 4, when Jerry Lawler impatiently demanded she ‘show her stuff’, as it were, and in that moment, MsChif realized what no one else around her could – that WWE had somehow taken 11 strong-willed, confident, strong women, and turned them into a bunch of bickering little girls.   Daizee, who had once seemed to be the nicest person on the planet, was now turning into the stereotypical Reality Show ‘Bitch’.   Sara Del Rey, who, in any other locker room, had always been a quiet, cooperative professional, was now constantly mouthing off to management and picking fights with the Divas.   Even Kong, who had always walked into promotions as the dominant monster, was playing the game, networking with old friends, doing Stephanie McMahon’s dirty work, doing whatever she could to make herself more popular.   But the worst of it was Melissa.   Melissa, whom MsChif had come to respect after several long, grueling battles, was no longer the ‘take no crap, ass-kicker’ she had come to know.   Melissa, for all intents and purposes, was trying to be everybody’s best friend, either not realizing or simply not caring about how everything was crumbling around them.  

And yet, she couldn’t leave.   She wanted to, but she just couldn’t walk away.   She knew that, if she just walked out, it would hurt her professional reputation forever.   She had worked nearly 10 years to earn the reputation and respect she had among promoters and talent in the industry, and, no matter how bad the situation on NXT was, she simply could not walk out on the competition, allowing them to say that she was unreliable, that she couldn’t handle the pressure, or the other amounts of bullsh*t promoters spout off every time they have a less-than-amicable parting of the ways with talent.   Unfortunately, for MsChif, the Straight Edge Society had invested an interest in Daizee Haze, and were willing to do whatever necessary in order to see Daizee succeed, even if it meant having Luke Gallows ambush her last week, ensuring that MsChif would not make it to the Battle Royale challenge, eliminating her from NXT outright.

Now, MsChif had the worst of both worlds.   She not only lost her one real shot at being a part of WWE, but has seen her professional reputation burned to ashes, as, because of the Straight Edge Society’s interference, WWE has been led to believe that MsChif simply walked out on NXT, refusing to participate in the battle royale, much the way Sara Del Rey refused to participate in the bikini contest the week before.   And, just as she feared, the worst has been said about her – that she was unreliable, that she couldn’t handle the pressure, that she didn’t deserve to be in WWE at all.

So MsChif did the only thing she could do.   She went home, and back to work, here, in the little microbiology lab where her journey into wrestling began.   It was here when a woman first came in and asked her if she could do something fun with her life, what would it be, and MsChif said, “learn to wrestle”.   And it would be here where Jillian Hall would try to make things right.

“Hey Chif,” Jillian said, trying to get MsChif’s attention.  

MsChif looked up, almost with disgust, and said, “What?   You here to complain about how I walked out on you?   Because…”

“I know what happened,” Jillian said, sadly.   “Charles Robinson told me all about it, how you got ambushed by the Straight Edge Society before the battle royale last week, and how he found you locked in a broom closet…”

“Did he tell you what Matt Striker said to me when he tried to explain to him what happened?” MsChif replied.  

“How you shouldn’t have gone off your meds?” Jillan replied.  

“Yeah,” MsChif sighed.   “Real compassionate guy there, huh?”

“Well, you got to realize, between the Nexus and Nikki Roxx…” Jillian began.

“Nikki Roxx?” MsChif asked.

“Yeah,” Jillian said.   “Nikki Roxx ran in and won the battle royale.   You didn’t hear about that?”

“Nope,” MsChif replied.   “Been trying not to think too much about wrestling at all, lately.”

“Then you probably don’t want to know that the Canadian Ninjas got their contracts from the Raw General Manager,” Jillian added.

“Good for them,” MsChif said, sarcastically.   “Hell, maybe if I attacked Stephanie McMahon instead of Jerry Lawler, the dumb bitch might have actually remembered my name…”

“You know, Chif, this doesn’t have to be the end.   I mean, if Nicole Matthews could…” Jillian began.

“I’m not going back, Jill,” MsChif said, bluntly.   “I can’t.”

“But…” Jillian began.

“Listen, I don’t need Vince McMahon’s money,” MsChif said.   “As you can see, I have a pretty good job right here.   I wrestle because its fun, because I enjoy it, because I take pride in it.   I was in WWE for 5 weeks, and because of that, I may never get booked again.   Do you understand what’s happened here?   Between Daizee Haze stabbing me in the back, Serena Deeb deciding that money’s more important than personal integrity, and Matt Striker talking down to me like I’m some child with ADD, I honestly don’t care if I ever wrestle again!   And sure, maybe in a couple weeks, when everything clams down, I may feel differently, but, honestly… I think I’d rather deal with Dixie the Megalomaniac than go back to NXT.   At least I know she’ll bail me out of jail…”

Suddenly, the lights in the lab flicker, then go out.

“What the hell…?” MsChif said.

“I’m sorry,” Jillian said.   “They made me do it.”

“Who made you do what?” MsChif asked, just as a large, metal bin comes crashing through a nearby window.   As it does, the members of the Nexus all enter from various angles.   “What the hell is all this?   I told you guys, I’m not going back!”

It is now Week 6 of the Divas’ NXT competition, and things are, well, a bit crazy.   Officially speaking, only 6 rookies remain – Cheerleader Melissa, Amazing Kong, Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze, Rain, and Kellie Skater – but after Nikki Roxx unexpectedly joined, then won, the Battle Royale Immunity Challenge, there have been some questions about whether she has now been added to the competition as well.   Meanwhile, the Canadian Ninjas, now part of the faction of Season 1 NXT Rookies known as The Nexus, have been given guaranteed contracts by the mysterious Raw General Manager, and are now officially part of the Raw Roster.   Also complicating matters, the woman who had basically run the NXT competition, Stephanie McMahon, is currently in the hospital, recovering from an attack by the Nexus last week on NXT.   All this has left NXT in a state of uncertainty.

Inside the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, the remaining NXT rookies, along with Nikki Roxx, have all been gathered just outside of the Divas’ Locker Room by the NXT Host, Matt Striker, where, hopefully, they would soon learn the state of NXT going forward.

“Hello, ladies,” Matt said, solemnly.   “As you already know, due to the brutal attack she suffered at the hands of the Nexus last week, Stephanie McMahon will, for the time being, not be here to run the NXT competition going forward.   And, with Mr. McMahon having already suffered an attack by the Nexus, as well as Triple H’s recent injury at the hands of Sheamus, WWE is, for the first time in its existence, without a member of the McMahon family at the helm running the ship, so to speak.   Its been decided by WWE’s Board of Directors that, until either Vince, Stephanie, or Hunter are able to return, all creative power for the WWE have been transferred to the General Managers of the respective brands.   And, with that power, as you also may have learned, Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez were given guaranteed contracts by the Raw General Manager this past Friday.   The very contracts you 6, or should I say 7 now, were supposed to be competing for.   Because of this, WWE no longer has the budget necessary to ensure you the contracts promised to you should you win the NXT competition.”

“So, wait,” Kellie Skater said.   “You mean to tell us that the Canadian Ninjas got OUR contract?   So what the bollocks are we competing for?”

“That’s actually what I’m about to get to.   Now, as you know, NXT isn’t necessarily a ‘brand’ of WWE, per se.   It’s merely a competition that just happens to have its own time slot.   Or, at least, it did,” Matt Striker continued.   “As of today, the SyFy network has decided that, due to declining ratings, they have decided not to keep NXT, and will instead take on SmackDown once our contract with MyNetwork ends in the fall.”

“Yeah, but that’s months away,” Kong added.   “NXT still has a show until then, don’t it?”

“Normally, yes,” Matt continued.   “Unfortunately, due to the graphic nature of the attacks by the Nexus last week, SyFy has elected to pull the plug immediately, which essentially means… show’s over, ladies.”

“Wait, that’s it?” Sara Del Rey shouted.   “It’s over?   Just like that?”

“Unfortunately, this is out of my hands.   Normally, Stephanie would be really good about talking the network into letting us at least finish the season, but, well, I’m not her, and apparently, I’m not as convincing, I guess, because...” Matt sighed.   “I’m sorry, okay?   I’m sorry we wasted your time.   All of you.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that I went to all this trouble to get my ass here for that battle royale last week for nothing?!” Nikki Roxx shouted.   “Seriously?   What the f*ck?!   You guys find out TNA screwed me over, AGAIN, practically BEGGING me to come to NXT, and this is what happens?!”

“Wait, hold up,” Kellie Skater said.   “WWE called you and begged you to show up last week?”

“Yeah,” Nikki replied.   “Some woman, said she was from WWE, called me up a week and a half ago and said for me to be in Tulsa for NXT on Tuesday, so I call WWE Headquarters, confirm the booking, and I showed up.   Got a note from the Raw General Manager, said I should run into the battle royale and knock the winner on her ass…   I figured this was just a way to introduce me.   I didn’t know I was being set up to win the damn thing!”

“The Raw General Manager set this up?” Matt Striker asked.

“Yeah,” Nikki replied.   “I thought you guys knew.   I mean, hell, why else would I be here now?   It’s not like my Johnny-Come-Lately ass would just randomly show up and expect to be allowed on NXT half-way through the competition unless someone in management here arranged for it!”

“Well, that explains the text I got from Johnny Ace when you ran in last week,” Striker said, pulling out his phone.   “Here it is – ‘Don’t sweat it.   Roxxi’s with me.’   So I call him after the show, and he’s like, ‘yeah, she’s clear.   Keep her in’.”

“Well, someone’s got a fan in the office,” Daizee said.   “Must have seen you on one of those ESPN fitness competitions, doing cartwheels in a bikini, or something…”

“Must have…” Nikki sighed, somewhat unnerved by the attitude in Daizee’s voice.

“You don’t think Ace has something to do with the Raw General Manager, do you?” Melissa asked Matt.

“I don’t know,” Matt said.   “Nikki, you know anything about the Raw GM?”

“Not really.   I did talk to him over the phone once, but his voice was all weird, like it was being filtered through one of those talk boxes or something,” Nikki replied.   “There was one thing I thought was odd about him, though.”

“What was that?” Matt asked.

“He kept calling me Roxxi.   Usually, people outside of TNA call me Nikki, but this guy, he kept calling me Roxxi, and…   What was that text you got from Ace again?” Nikki asked Matt.

Looking at his phone, he read, “Roxxi’s with me.”

“You think Ace is the Raw GM?” Nikki asked.

Cheerleader Melissa steps up and says, “We can always go ask him.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, the Straight Edge Society is waiting outside of one of conference rooms here in the American Bank Center.

“So you’ve actually met the new Raw GM?” Serena asked CM Punk.

“Yeah,” Punk replied.  “Years ago.   Kinda messed up in the head, really.   She actually thinks she can ‘save wrestling’ or something.”

“Save wrestling from what, exactly?” Serena asked.

“Who knows?   You talk to the c*nt for more than five seconds, and you feel like you just want to bash your f*cking skull in, you know?” Punk answered.

“And this plan of hers, we’re a part of it… how?” Luke Gallows asked.

“I don’t know,” Punk said, “and I really don’t care.   Honestly, the less I have to do with this person, the better.”

“So why the hell did she want us to take MsChif out of NXT, anyway?” Serena asked.   “You don’t think she and Daizee…?”

“I don’t know what the hell’s happened to Daizee Haze since I last saw her, but, right now, nothing would surprise me,” Punk replied.   “All I know is, we played our part, and now, we all go back to SmackDown, and let the Raw GM handle her sh*t.”

Off in the distance, Punk sees Evan Bourne and Yoshi Tatsu watching them, talking amongst each other.

“Hey!” Punk shouted to Bourne and Yoshi.   “What the hell are you two starting at?”

“Well,” Evan Bourne answered, “it could be the guy with the Black Delirious mask and his two bald cronies, or it could be the giant, tattooed douchebag talking about the new Raw General Manager.”

“I see,” Punk sighed as he and the Straight Edge Society approached Evan and Yoshi.   “So, what exactly is it about my private conversation with my disciples that intrigues you so much, Evan?”

“You said you’ve met the GM?” Evan replied.

“Oh, yeah,” Punk said.   “I have.   In fact, so have you, years ago, when you and Daizee were still an item.   Maybe you should hit up your ex and ask her about the Raw GM.   After all, it seems she has a soft spot for the ol’ hippy…”

As the Straight Edge Society walked off, Yoshi asked Evan, “You used to go out with Daizee Haze?”

“Yeah,” Evan sighed.   “Long time ago, when we both first got into the business.”

“What happened?” Yoshi continued.

“We grew apart, man,” Evan said.   “She joined the Embassy, met Delirious, and me, I just… I don’t know.   She seems like a nice girl when you meet her, but, man, sometimes, she can turn into a real bitch, and…”

“You want me to go talk to her?” Yoshi volunteered.   “Ask her about the Raw GM?”

“I have the feeling, even if Daizee did know what’s going on, she’s not going to say anything to us,” Evan sighed.

Just then, Matt Striker and the remaining NXT Rookies came marching down the hall.

“Hey Matt,” Evan said.   “How are you…?”

“You guys seen Johnny Ace?” Matt asked Evan and Yoshi.

“No,” they agreed.

“What’s going on?” Yoshi asked, noticing the rather serious look in the faces of most of the rookies.

“We need to talk to Johnny Ace.   We think he might be the new Raw General Manager, and…” Matt said.

“Well, I don’t know who the Raw GM is, but I know it’s not Johnny Ace,” Evan answered.

“What?” Matt asked, shocked.

“Yeah, CM Punk and his goons were just here, like, five minutes ago, and he was bragging about how he’s met the new Raw GM, and…” Evan began.

Sara Del Rey, taking the initiative, grabs Evan by the collar and screams at him, “Who is it?”

“Wow,” Rain sighed.   “That was subtle.”

“I don’t know,” Evan panics.   “All I know is, CM Punk said it was a woman!”

“A woman?” Cheerleader Melissa thought, out-loud.   “You don’t think it’s Vickie Guerrero, do you?”

“Vickie Guerrero?” Kong said, almost laughing.   “Look, I got saddled with that stick-figure McCool as a pro, and, let me tell you, for the five minutes Michelle even seemed to give a rat’s ass about me, I can tell you, I’ve met Vickie, I’ve been around Vickie, and Vicki ain’t smart enough to put anything like this together.   Besides, she’s too busy trying to get into Dolph Ziggler’s pants to arrange the whole Nexus invasion and get NXT canceled…”

“Oh, how would you know?” Rain interceded.  

“Oh boy, the Lay-Cool’s Chosen One’s about to speak.   Let me get my bunker ready for the big pile of bullsh*t…” Kong said, sarcastically.

“Okay, you know what?” Rain snapped.   “Yeah, Lay-Cool’s a pain in the ass, but at least I was smart enough to cut a deal with them!   You, on the other hand, ‘I’m the big, fat, Amazing Kong, and I will eat you and take your belt and rarw raw rarwl…’   Did it ever occur to you that the whole reason the Canadian Ninjas got signed to Raw, using up the budget set aside for OUR CONTRACT, and pretty much screwing US out of chance to be in WWE was, I don’t know, all done to make sure none of YOU could take the Women’s Title off of Lay-Cool?”

“Which would pretty much mean Lay-Cool screwed you, too, princess!”   Kellie Skater added.

“Well, yeah!” Rain said.   “You guys don’t really think I TRUSTED those two, did you?   I mean, hello!   I’m a freaking HOME WRECKER!   We INVENTED the double-cross!”

“I’m pretty sure you, Lacey and Jetta didn’t ‘invent’ the double cross…” Nikki Roxx muttered.

“Did CM Punk tell you guys anything else about the Raw GM?” Melissa asked Evan and Yoshi.

“Just that me and Daizee knew her from way back,” Evan answered.

“Daizee…” Melissa said, thinking out loud.   She looked behind her, over her fellow NXT rookies, and noticed that Daizee Haze was missing.   “Where the hell is she?”

Meanwhile, in a makeshift office in a nearby conference room, WWE’s Vice President of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, commonly known in the locker room as ‘Johnny Ace’, was sitting at a desk, checking his e-mail on his laptop when, suddenly, a very panicked Daizee Haze rushed into the room.

“What the hell are you…?” Ace said, standing up from his seat, frustrated by the interruption.

“They’re on to us,” Daizee said, sternly.

“Wh… What?” Ace replied.   “What are you talking about?”

“Seriously, Ace, this is no time for kayfabe!” Daizee shouted.   “The girls, they know something’s up!”

“Calm down, Daizee,” Johnny Ace said to the obviously frustrated Haze.   “Now, listen, I know the girls are upset about NXT being canceled and all, and naturally, they’re going to ask questions and go on wild goose chases, trying to figure out who the Raw GM is, and what she had to do with them not getting their contracts and all, but really, Daizee, they’re not going to find out anything.”

“Yeah, well, CM Punk’s been running his mouth about how he’s met the Raw GM before, and he even told Evan Bourne that we did too, back when we were dating!   It’s not going to take much for them to realize I’m a part of this, and…” Daizee vented.

“Look, you knew, sooner or later, they were going to figure you out,” Ace said, calmly.   “Heck, we were counting on it, remember?”

“Well, your sleeper better be as good as you say she is,” Daizee replied.   “Because it’s not going to take much for them to figure out that the new Raw GM is…”

“Hey!” Ace shouted.   “Don’t forget where you are, Daizee.   The walls have ears, you know!   Now, listen to me.   The sleeper’s in place, and she’s going to make sure Melissa, Kong, and whoever else stays just far enough off course for us to finish off Raw once and for all.   And once Raw is a pile of rubble, you got your spot, and you’ll have your chance to bring credibility and respect and whatnot to Women’s Wrestling, on Prime Time TV, Monday Nights, the way you’ve always wanted!   But, in the meantime, we’re going to need you to take this heat, Daze.”

“You’re right,” Daizee sighed.   “I knew this was going to happen, I just thought it would…”

“I know,” Ace said to her.   “Honestly, I thought we’d have everything in place long before SyFy would pull the plug on NXT, but between Nicole Matthews playing Hitman, Portia Perez calling Stephanie out on live TV, and their whole deal with Natalya…”

“I know,” Daizee sighed.   “Nobody was expecting the Canadian Ninjas to get this involved.”

“That, and I think Heath has a thing for Nicole Matthews,” Ace added.   “Probably didn’t take much to talk Wade into letting them into the Nexus, either.   Not after the way Portia’s been taking it to Natalya as of late.   Hell, between the Ninjas, the Usos, and the Nexus, the Hart Dynasty’s got their hands full right now.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea letting the rookies to do the heavy lifting, you know?” Daizee sighed.

“Look, I know they’re green.   I know sometimes they think they can think when they ought to just shut up and listen, but so far, they’ve been the most effective arm of this operation, by far.   And… oh, that’s them now,” Ace said as his cell phone began to ring.   He answered it, saying, “Hello?   Yeah, she’s here.   Seems CM Punk’s been talking.   Uh huh…   I’ll let her know.   What about you?   Really?   You’d have thought she’d put up more of a fight.   After all, it took at least 20 guys to take her down at Bellevue…   Oh, yes.   Good news, by the way – NXT has just been canceled as of today.   Yeah, I figured you guys would be happy to hear that.   Well, I think I should let you go, I have… yeah.   Call me when you get there, all right?   Good.   Talk to you later.”   Ace then ends the call, and returns his attention to Daizee Haze.   “The Canadian Ninjas would like to thank you for helping them get WWE contracts, Daze.”

“Well, that’s nice of them…” Daizee sighed.   “Thanks Daze, for letting us completely f*ck up the plan!”

“Hey, they’re good girls,” Ace said.   “And they get the job done.   The least we can do is bring them into the fold.”

“Speaking of which, obviously you were talking to…” Daizee began.

“Yeah, it’s them, and, apparently, she didn’t put up half the fight we thought she would,” Ace said.   “But we do expect MsChif’s spirits to pick up once she sees what we did to Daffney and LuFisto.”

“Well, nothing inspires the girl like screwing with her friends,” Daizee smiled.   “Believe me, I’d know.   I’ve been screwing with her head for years, now…”