Secret Origins: First Test

[Trav McBang!]

Secret Origins: First Test
RP #2 (of 2) vs The Illuminati

Winter Warfare. Jeremy Sterling and Kurt Noble could not realize how aptly named their final show of the year truly was. Der Krieg Maschinen had made an agreement to face off with the men who had hounded them for months, The Russian Otbet, in an unsanctioned match for the Kingdom of Pride fans to witness. However, a slight wrench had been thrown in the Krieg’s plans. Robbie Venom and Shawn Stevens, two members of the Illuminati, decided to challenge the Maschinen in order to prove their superiority to the Pride fanbase.

However, it was the Krieg who displayed their superiority later in the night. After months of being attacked by the Otbet, tensions were at an all time high for the German giants. Alex Avice’s interference, stepping in to prevent physicality, seemed to be the breaking point of the two behemoths. However, once they were called out by the Illuminati, they felt it necessary to prove their superiority once more. As Kaja Reinhardt instructed them, the two men sabotaged the Illuminati’s match, wrecking five exhausted men in the process. The punctuating blow was dealt as Shawn Stevens was tossed from the ring to the floor. This attack, Kaja hoped, would send a message. Not just a message to the Kingdom of Pride locker room, but the entire world. The Krieg were not going to be toyed with any longer.

Munich, Germany
1988

The strong arms of Lukas Reinhardt reached down and lifted his small daughter, Kaja, from the blanket of snow. The six-year-old, with her gold curls tucked beneath a knitted cap, peered down at the imprint that she’d left in the winter’s first snowfall. Staring back at her was the shape of an angel, exactly the same size as the young girl. With a sweet smile, she turned and extended her arms towards her father. He was always carrying her.

Her father kissed her on the forehead and wiped a small speck of snow from her nose. “You see that, Kaja? It appears you really are my little engel.” The little girl gave an amused laugh as her father lifted her up. Giving her the opportunity to look at the snow angel one last time, Lukas carried his little girl back to their house.

---

Kaja Reinhardt slowly opened her eyes, not wanting to let go of the vivid memory. Things were so different from that snowy afternoon with her father.

In the present day, she was worlds away from the German household that she’d grown up in. The sweet smells of her mom’s cooking did not wait for her inside. Her nights weren’t spent wrapped up in warm blankets, knitted by her grandmother. Instead, she was living out of the two bed motel room at the Monopoly. The only smell that awaited her once she went back inside was the stuffy odor of an old hotel. Kaja slept on a small cot, barely wide enough to hold her petite frame, placed between the two beds.

Her father, Lukas, had been dead nearly two decades. The roles were now reversed, with Kaja tending to her father’s most cherished project, the two gigantic Maschinen. She cared for them much like a parents would care for their own children. It was amusing how things change.

However, one thing had not changed; the first snowfall always seemed to put Kaja at ease. Even though her current situation was stressful, with the weight of the world weighing down on her, watching the Tennessee streets become blanketed by the falling snow, as well as the winter’s breeze took Kaja back to that innocent day in Germany. She stretched a hand out, catching a snowflake in her palm. With a fleeting smile, Kaja turned and ducked back into the Monopoly hotel room.

Inside, the two Maschinen were seated on the foot of their beds, as was usual when they were in the compact room. However, their usual vacant stare wasn’t present. Somba and Balraj, despite their intimidating size, were both fixated on the falling snow, much like children would be. Kaja couldn’t help herself, as a laugh escaped from her lips. “You see?” she asked them. “Perhaps America isn’t so different from Germany after all.” She wished that they could respond, but refused to let such a trivial detail ruin the day. “There’s something about a first snowfall, isn’t there?” She mused, mostly to herself. “Just several days ago, it seemed as if the entire world was bearing down on us, but look at us now. You’d never guess that we had not one, but two battles ahead this weekend, would you?”

Kaja’s smile was unrelenting, despite the circumstances surrounding the Krieg. She walked over and sat at the small table near the window. She placed her head in her hands and watched as the snow steadily fell to the ground. She closed her eyes once more, trying to summon more memories of innocent times. Her mental journey was interrupted by a ringing noise on her laptop. She hesitantly opened one eye. On her screen was a message: COMMANDER KOHLER CALLING. She cringed, opening her other eye and reluctantly hitting the button to accept the call. She should have known that Kohler would request a progress report this week.

“Miss Reinhardt,” Kohler’s voice rang out nearly as soon as Kaja had accepted the call. “Does the fact that you’re still alive mean I should assume you have nothing but good news?” Kaja noticed that this was not a private call, as the entire board of the organization sat before her Commander. Each of the distinguished personnel was sitting with their hands folding, hanging on her every word.

This made Kaja’s next words hard to say, but she could not afford to be anything less than candid with the people in charge of the Krieg. “Unfortunately, no.” The posture of every man seated behind Kohler sank. “Although we planned to take on this Russian Otbet last week, outside forces intervened.”

“Outside forces?” The tension in the Kriegzimmer suddenly rose. Kohler put his hands to his face, breathing deeply into his palms. He lowered them, now more relaxed. “Was it American? …Polish? Lord knows we’ve done enough to draw that country’s ire.”

“Well, no…” Kaja nervously bit her lip.

“…Oh…” Kohler turned to look at the members of the counsel. He turned back to Kaja with a worried expression. “Is it the fucking North Koreans? They always manage to screw things up.” Kaja, against her own will, chuckled at the suggestion. This seemed to annoy Kohler, who took a slow, deep breath and glared into the monitor. “Is something funny, Miss Reinhardt? Is this situation a joke to you?”

“No,” Kaja attempted to stop her own laughter. “I’m sorry, Commander. The issue is far, far less harmful. It is…” She paused for a moment, accepting how ridiculous her next words would be before she said them. “It is a wrestling-related delay.” She paused again, trying to meticulously word the situation so Commander Kohler would understand. “A figurehead at the organization persuaded Makarov to fight the Maschinen next week, where a larger audience could witness the outcome.”

“That’s preposterous,” Kohler barked back. “They are placing those civilians in harm’s way. Makarov is an expert marksman and Irakoze has been known to maim his target by any means necessary.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Kohler’s face contorted in a quizzical manner. “From the way Makarov acted, this will be a fight without lethal weapons.” After a brief second, Kaja decided to add. “…fists excluded.”

“So you’re informing me that Makarov and Irakoze want to fight the Maschinen hand-to-hand?” Kohler turned around, looking over the Krieg’s counsel, and let out a hearty laugh. “For years, the world has spoken of the Winter Soldier like he is some sort of tactical mastermind…yet he is a mere fool. Has he not seen the size of the Maschinen?”

“Commander, I would not so quickly dismiss the hand-to-hand training of the Otbet…” Kaja bit her lip nervously, unsure of the confidence that Kohler exhibited.

“My dear, I’m not dismissing them. However, I know the training that the Maschinen have received. I know the power that each of them has shown. If a fist fight with the Otbet is all that stands in our way, I am relieved.” Kohler opened a folder lying in front of him, surveyed its contents, and nodded in approval. “I shall mail you a strategy as soon as this conversation is over. Spend all week preparing for the Otbet…That will be all, Ms. Reinhardt.”

“Commander,” Kaja urged, stopping Kohler from terminating the call. She nervously looked back out the window, hoping that the snow would put her back at ease. It didn’t. “I can’t…” She looked over at the Maschinen, still entranced by the snowfall and unaware of what lay ahead. “We can’t afford to do that. We have another opposition this week…”

“Another opposition?” Kohler questioned. “Kaja, I don’t appreciate you wasting my time if the Maschinen are going to face those moronic vagabonds or hand-staring buffoons.”

“No, Commander. We are scheduled to face the Illuminati…”

A collective gasp resounded throughout the Krieg counsel room. Hushed whispers began being exchanged behind the Commander, whose face was beginning to turn red. “Damn,” Kohler swore loudly. “This is worse than the Koreans, Kaja! How could you withhold this information from me?” Frantically, Kohler turned to the board and began barking at his subordinates. “Find me any information that you can find about Winston Churchill and the Illuminati since the end of World War II! They have lay in waiting for so long…how can we prepare?” Kohler turned back to the monitor. “Kaja, forget the Otbet!”

“No, No…” Kaja blushed as she realized her mistake. “Not those Illuminati…” Kohler gritted his teeth and glared at her. Without a word, he motioned for the men behind him to stop. He raised a quizzical eyebrow, edging Kaja to continue. “The Illuminati are two wrestlers, Robbie Venom and Shawn Stevens.” Kohler’s face began to turn red. Before he could erupt, Kaja blurted out, “We’re facing them an hour prior to our meeting with the Otbet, Commander! Surely a loss would leave the Maschinen compromised for their battle with the Russian and the Rwandan.”

“Very well,” Kohler said, releasing a deep breath to control his anger. “Then you have the task of preparing the Maschinen for both fights, Miss Reinhardt.” Before she could protest, Kohler quipped his parting comments. “After all, they’re your responsibility. Isn’t that what you wanted, Miss Reinhardt?” And the connection was terminated.

Kaja sighed. Preparing her men to face the Illuminati was a task in itself, but the added pressure of the Otbet simply made it seem impossible. She turned to look out the window once more. Several boys in the parking lot had begun to toss snowballs at each other, laughing all the while. Not even the snowfall could ease Kaja Reinhardt’s mind now.

---

Backstage, prior to Winter Warfare, Alex Avice snuck into the locker room of the Maschinen. He immediately noticed the two giants, both on one knee, as Kaja was feeding them strategy, in German, in a hushed tone, making sure that nobody could hear. Avice cleared his throat, getting Kaja’s attention. She turned around, whispered something in German to the Maschinen, and walked towards Avice.

“Miss Reinhardt, if I overstepped my boundaries last week…” Avice began.

“Don’t worry,” Kaja assured him. “You did, but in the end, it is better for the Krieg.” She gave him a quaint smile to ease his worries.

“What do you mean, Miss Reinhardt? Now you have the Russian Outbet to fight, as well as the Illuminati. I feel partly responsible for putting you in this position.”

“It is ok,” Kaja reassured him. “It gave the Maschinen an entire week longer to prepare. Last week, we were ready to fight the Russian Otbet. However, seven extra days of studying their tendencies and learning their weaknesses has only aided us, I assure you.”

“And what of the Illuminati?” Avice answered. “If anything, studying the Otbet for a week longer has left you unprepared for Venom and Stevens.”

Kaja smiled. Avice’s burden of guilty was amusing to her, as he seemed far more worried than she did. “Alex, we have beaten the Illuminati once before. We can beat them again. They may have learned more about us than they knew last time, but knowing one’s opponent and defeating them are different things entirely. I am quite good at creating tactics for the Maschinen to follow,” Kaja shrugged. “I believe our past has shown this to the world. They are also experts at following my orders and defeating every obstacle placed in their way. If the Illuminati want to face us this week, that does not greatly concern me.” Kaja gave Avice another polite smile. She said something in German, prompting the Maschinen to stand up and walk towards her.

“One last question,” Avice bargained. Kaja nodded her approval. “This week’s matchup between the two premiere teams in Pride may very well decide the fates of the Scrambles championships. Clearly, the Krieg enjoy fighting and beating their opponents. Does the added incentive of a reward affect your game plan at all?”

“Reward?” Kaja’s eyes lit up. The thought of presenting hard evidence to Kohler that the Krieg were getting better through their training was extremely appealing to her. “Alex, every man dreams of medals to display their dominance to the world. Of course the Maschinen would enjoy these Scrambles championships…however, it does not affect the way we approach this match. Rewards, or no rewards, the Maschinen are focused on winning. Now, if you would excuse me…” Kaja motioned towards the giants, now flanking her on each side. “I have some last minute preparing to do.”

“Yes, of course,” Avice said with a quick nod, backing out the door to the locker room. “Again, sorry about last week…” Kaja smiled and shook her head, not wanting to repeat her assurance a third time. “Good luck this week, in both of your battles.”

“Tausend dank,” Kaja said with a smile as the door closed. She turned back to the Maschinen, both of who seemed relaxed despite their upcoming fights. They were ready for the Otbet…and they were ready for the Illuminati. It was time to prove that the Maschinen was the most dominating force in the Kingdom of Pride…and they had the planning and strength to do so.[/font]

Winter Warfare was upon the Krieg. For the past few months, the Maschinen had deviated from the dominance that once characterized their reputation in Kingdom of Pride. If the Krieg could obtain a victory over the Illuminati, their reputation would be moderately repaired. If they could defeat the Otbet in the same night, their reputation would be cemented.

Kaja had wanted this several months ago. However, the foreign American culture and added responsibilities had prevented her from truly enjoying it. As caring for the Maschinen had now become second nature, she reveled in the opportunity to train them and hone their skills like she had initially planned. Winter Warfare was the first big test of her abilities…and she wasn’t going to let her father down.