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"Oh! Damn it..." the young woman swore, one hand pressed against her head as her two best friends helped her into the hotel.
Matt Hardy, who was on her left side, peered into her face with concern. "Is it really that bad, Lita?"
"Feel for yourself!" the redhead cried with a wince.
The dark-haired man did so as the diva leaned fully on Jeff Hardy, at her right. "Ouch...you've got quite a bump there," Matt said.
"That bitch! Mark my words, guys - the next time I see Stephanie McMahon, she's dead meat!"
The Hardy brothers helped her into the hotel room, and Lita gingerly eased onto the bed. Earlier that night on RAW, the Hardy Boyz had teamed up with The Rock for a six-man tag team match against "Team ECK" - Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle. Stephanie, the Olympic Gold Medalist's business partner, had been at ringside. Chaos had ensued during the match, the other side having double- and triple-teamed, and she had gotten in the mix to even up the odds for her team. When the referee's back was turned, she had climbed up to the top turnbuckle, taking Christian down with a hurricanrana. Before she'd had a chance to get out of the ring, Angle had grabbed her, cornering her on the outside. Then, while her back had been turned, that rich spoiled brat Stephanie had jumped her from behind, hitting her in the head. The brunette had followed that up by grabbing her by the back of her cargo pants and tossing her head-first into the steel ring post.
"So, you need us to get you anything, Lita?" Jeff asked as he knelt near her beside the bed, placing a hand on hers.
"No...well, nothing unless it's Stephanie McMahon's head on a platter..." she muttered bitterly.
"Sorry, can't help you there..."
Lita shook her head, eyeing the two men. "I'll be okay, guys...you two just go on to the club with Chris. I'm just going to stay around here."
"You sure?" Matt asked. "We can stay here with you if you want..."
"No, I'll be okay...I think Chyna said she and Eddy were staying in tonight, so maybe I'll give them a ring if I get bored."
"All right...if you're sure, Li..."
"I'm sure...Have fun."
"Thanks," Jeff said. "Put some ice on that thing," he added, pointing to her head.
She decided to take him up on that suggestion, grabbing her keycard and placing it in the pocket of her jeans. She snatched up a couple of plastic cups from the bathroom before walking the brothers out of the room. From there, they separated, and she walked down the hall to the ice machine. She would put some ice in a towel back in the room and hold it against her head for a little while, deciding she would just put on the TV.
As Lita was retrieving some ice, she turned her head as she heard voices nearby. She scowled as she saw Edge and Christian engaged in an animated conversation several feet away.
The redhead didn't like the two blond Canadian men, and the feeling was mutual. They were always causing trouble for her and the Hardys, and they seemed to get a sadistic pleasure out of doing so. Lately, they seemed hell-bent on regaining the tag team belts, which they had recently lost - but WWF Commissioner Mick Foley had punished them for their constant interference in the Hardys' matches, declaring they would get no more title shots as long as the North Carolinian brothers were the champions.
Lita could swear she'd heard Christian mention something about the Conquistadors - a "new" tag team to the Federation. The team, supposedly from Latin America, had seemingly come out of nowhere - although she knew there had been a team by the exact same name who had worn matching gold outfits and masks back in the late eighties - had won the tag team battle royal that had taken place on a recent SmackDown. She became suspicious as she tried to catch exactly what they were discussing.
The taller of the two suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring at them, and he turned to catch the redhead watching them. She seemed to be eavesdropping, and he glared at her. In his eyes, she always had been nothing but trouble.
Lita didn't allow the man to intimidate her as he sneered at her, and she rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. He was worthy of being ignored, and so was Christian. She finished her task of filling her second cup with ice, then turned and headed back down the hall to her room.
As the redhead closed and locked the door behind her, she brought her cups of ice to the bathroom. She snatched up a hand towel, pouring some into it and made a makeshift icepack.
She sighed as she held it against her head, wincing as it made contact with her bump. She went back into the main room, flopping down onto the bed and reaching for the TV remote.
As she watched an old episode of Seinfeld, she couldn't help but wonder exactly what Edge and Christian had been talking about. She had the distinct suspicion that, as usual, they were up to no good.