Title: Dark Side

Author: captainbartholomew

Disclaimer: I do not own any members of the WWE or other items that may be copyrighted in this story because if I did I'd have Roman Reigns giving me a back massage and Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins painting my nails on a secluded beach somewhere. I only own my personal ideas, characters, opinions, etc. So please, don't sue me!

Summary: It was said Batman kept a little bit of kryptonite in his utility belt to prevent Superman from turning to the dark side. So with the comparison of Dean being Batman and Roman being Superman, what would keep the two from turning on each other and going dark side? Oneshot.

Blame/Fault: As with the majority of my fanfiction I've written recently, THIS IS ALL CAYLENDAR'S FAULT. She pointed out this theory in her comics about Batman keeping kryptonite in his utility belt in case Superman ever turned to the dark side. Then I heard an interview where Roman and Dean compared themselves to Superman and Batman. So the two of us proceeded to have a conversation about what keeps the brothers from going dark side.

This also comes from the amount of wrestling websites I've been reading saying WWE is going to break up my favorite brothers soon. So in order to keep brotherhood alive, I wrote this in response. Read on…

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Dean Ambrose sat idly flipping through the latest issue of the new Batman comic as he waited for Roman Reigns to finish up his match of the evening. He sat perched atop one of the crates in back, eyes flicking back and forth from the monitor to the comic, listening to the announcers give a play by play of the match. He hoped Roman would finish soon so they could get on the road to the next town and maybe grab a drink or even shot some pool at the local dive bar. It seemed these days they never had time to be brothers, but were instead constantly trying to defend their loyalty and brotherhood.

Especially since the Wyatt Family had decided it was a good idea to mess with them. At first Dean hadn't really minded helping Roman out. Hell, it was like old times given how awesome their promos had been the last couple weeks. It had been all fun and games until that hulking beast of man known as Sister Abigail's "Black Sheep" showed up. That… that thing made Roman look like a dwarf and Dean look like a leprechaun. The two were sick and tired of getting the living daylights beat of them. However, this was not the only problem the pair was facing lately.

There were hushed whispers in the back swirling around the two young superstars. Talk was strong about how their brotherhood wouldn't survive much longer. The other wrestlers and divas were constantly giving them shifty glances anticipating the day the bond would break and start an all-out war between the two brothers. Dean rarely listened to the locker room gossip. It was always filled with the most ridiculous ideas about the wrestlers and divas on the roster. One time he had heard a rumor about Seth being a new aged form of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sure, it might have been plausible, but Dr. Jekyll always turned back to his nice, normal self. Ever since the "Chair Shot Heard Round the World" in 2014, it seemed Seth couldn't shut off his Mr. Hyde asshole persona. One rumor out of the thousands he had been told over his years of wrestling was somewhat plausible, but the rest, the rest never really ever stood a chance.

Suddenly, Roman's music began to echo throughout the back signifying he had won the match. Dean smiled triumphantly seeing his brother celebrating in the ring and not being jumped by the Wyatt Family yet again. It was odd they hadn't decided to attack, but he just assumed they were too busy brushing the swamp grass out of each other's beards to care about hurting them tonight. He continued to watch the monitor as Roman made his way up the ramp taking selfies for fans along with autographing merchandise. Dean had to wonder, could Roman ever really hate his fans so much he feel the need to turn to the dark side.

Sure, back in February Roman had been booed out of almost every arena in the continental United States. The fans had hated him for just being the company's top guy, but it wasn't like he was the villain to anyone. Dean could have easily seen Roman turning against the fans then and becoming a megalomaniac, but he didn't. He stayed on the path to good and chose to keep trucking along even if the fans hated him. The crowds were always fickle, so after several months they began to dwindle the booing of Roman as he made it back into their good graces. What if a similar situation happened again? Would Roman be tempted to turn then? What would happen to him if he did? Better yet, what would happen if Dean was the one who went dark side?

"Yo Dean, I hear they still have chocolate cake left in catering. Want to go get some?"

Dean snapped his head forward and found a sweaty, smelly, disgusting Roman standing in front of him. The Samoan certainly had a good wrestling match with his opponent for the evening judging by the tired look on his face. The match hadn't been main event worthy, but probably was good. He did feel a bit bad for not knowing who Roman's opponent was for the evening, but his comic book had been more interesting. The blonde fixed the brunette with a perplexed stare.

"Uh, what did you say?" questioned Dean a bit confused after drifting out of his own little world.

"I said," Roman reiterated for his brother in a slower tone then the first time, "They… have… chocolate… cake… left… in… catering. Are you feeling okay? Usually when I tell you there's cake in catering you dash off like a bullet and push to the front of the line. Then, if somebody is at the front of the line that you don't like you usually start a food fight, which leads to Hunter and Stephanie reprimanding us."

"Uh, I'm not really hungry," Dean answered as he looked at the ground not making eye contact with Roman. He hoped his brother wouldn't realize something was up, but to the young wrestler's dismay the large Samoan took a seat on the crate beside him. Dean huffed knowing he was going to be in for a long lecture about how he shouldn't listen to the other talent in the locker room especially in regard to such stupid gossip.

"What's going on Dean? You never turn down free cake unless something is really bothering you," Roman explained in his all-knowing older brother voice. Dean rolled his eyes and placed the comic book down next to him as he watched the other wrestlers and production staff sprint by them not really paying attention to the rest of the world trying to put on the show. If they hadn't been doing the show there was no way in hell he was going to have this conversation with Roman in public about the chance the brotherhood might go down the drain. It seemed no one was paying attention since they were too focused on making sure the show ran smoothly from start to finish. With an exasperated sigh, Dean decided to voice his thoughts to Roman about their current situation.

"I've been hearing a lot of locker room gossip lately," Dean hesitantly explained as Roman raised his eyebrow in an extreme The Rock fashion at his friend and contorted his face into a weird expression.

"What are they saying now?" Roman interrupted in annoyed voice, "Cena is an alien, robot, vigilante wrestler come to hunt and kill us all until he is the supreme Over Lord of the WWE."

"I really worry about you," Dean muttered under his breath as Roman elbowed him in the ribs playfully chastising his brother and continuing their long standing tradition of goofing off too.

"You can't believe everything you hear around here, you know that." Roman explained as he waved his hand out in front of him showcasing the people hustling and bustling around them trying to make sure the show ran smoothly. They had been around the WWE enough in the last several years to know not everything people said was true, but on the rare occasion it was. However, Roman knew his brother and could read him like the back of his hand. Dean had more to say, he could just sense it, as he nodded for the young man to continue.

"People are saying we're going to turn on each other," Dean announced looking at the floor trying to reject the information he had overheard from all of those who had been chatting about the duos brotherhood. Many were saying how sooner or later it would be cut and severed into a million pieces like one of those antique cat statues at your grandma's house you bust. The Lunatic Fringe turned to look at the Powerhouse, who sat there unsure of how to respond to his friend's question. Maybe, Roman thought they were going to turn on each other too, but had chosen to keep his thoughts to himself. Dean really didn't know, but he wanted to know if such a thing could happen between the two.

"Do you know in comics lure it was said Batman always carried a little piece of kryptonite in his utility belt just in case Superman ever felt the urge to go dark side?" stated Roman while picking up the comic book the Lunatic had tossed aside earlier. Dean gave his friend a confused look unsure of where exactly he was going with this as the Samoan continued, "You and I know each other's weaknesses plus we keep something in our back pocket as a safety precaution just like Bats and Supes. Going to the dark side isn't something that comes easily; you have to hurt someone really bad in order to go to that place. I can count numerous times on both hands, brothers in this business who have turned on each other. They still managed to come back: Edge and Christian, the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boys, the Brothers of Destruction. Maybe we will turn on each other, but we both have the something keeping us from doing that."

Roman paused as he leaned his body up against the wall and looked around. Dean wanted to know what the trigger was that they had in their other's back pockets in case something went terribly, horribly wrong. He impatiently tapped his fingers waiting for Roman to explain it more to him. Finally growing impatient enough, Dean spoke to his brother, "What is it? What's our kryptonite?!"

One word was all Roman spoke as he stared sadly into his brother's eyes knowing the response he would get once he said it. The word could cause heartbreak, mourning, or fits of endless rage between the two full grown men. They were always careful when they said the vile word. Roman sighed again unsure of how Dean was going to react to this answer from him. It would either cause him to fly into a fit of rage or cause him to go stalk off somewhere to sulk. Hopefully, he would go into a rage, Roman could calm him down a lot easier than if he was in one of his broody sulky moods.

"Seth," Roman answered waiting for the emotional rollercoaster known as Dean Ambrose to go off the tracks after stating their former brother's name. It had been awhile since they had discussed the young traitor. Every time the Power House said his former 'business partner's' name it tasted like he was attempting to sallow sour grapes whole or tasting his own bile.

"I don't understand," Dean answered in a calm but questioning demeanor to his brother. Roman hadn't expected Dean to take his response so well. However, he seemed to want more of an explanation from the large Samoan man. "I get he stabbed us in the back with chairs, but how is he our kryptonite?"

"Because," Roman stated simply staring at the blonde man sitting beside him, "We saw what that did to us. You remember, right? Two and a half years of brotherhood flushed down the toilet in a matter of what ten minutes? Seth took those two years and said it was nothing. We were nothing. I saw what happened to you after the chair shot. You saw what happened to me. Seth and the experience are our kryptonite because we trudged through it together… well until my appendix burst."

Dean let out a small snort and received a dirty glare from Roman before motioning for him to continue.

"I remember the war you went through with Seth. You remember the battles I fought against him to get the chance to be in matches for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The idea of us," he pointed back and forth between himself and Dean, "betraying each other and knowing what would come of it, is something I just don't want to relive again. You and I are best friends, we're brothers. Hell, people write stories about are brotherhood because it is so legendary! In true reality, we really are Superman and Batman or any fictional brother duo!

"So you know our kryptonite, are you feeling better about this whole situation? You're going to use it responsibly, right?"

Dean chuckled as he jumped off the crate grabbing his comic book. He shrugged his shoulders at Roman attempting to give him some form of an answer and also wanting to make a snarky comment about great power and great responsibility. The Lunatic knew Seth's betrayal had hit them both hard, but he could see how it could be a warning, an omen if you will. Dean could understand how Roman had seen this as their kryptonite. However, he had another question too which needed an answer.

"What's Seth kryptonite?"

Roman frowned unsure of why and how Dean was asking him this. From the glint in his young brother's eyes, he could tell the beginnings of a plan starting to be formed. The large Samoan man knew better than to question whatever the Lunatic was beginning to scheme and concoct in his crazy mind.

"Honestly, I don't know. I feel like if it was us, he would have been here a few weeks ago stopping the Wyatt's from making the two of us look like rag dolls being tossed around out in the ring," Roman sighed while running a hand over his face in frustration and then with a snort added, "Probably actually having to win a wrestling match without help is his other weakness. Why do you ask?"

Dean dropped his eye contact at the exact moment Roman had asked his question. They both knew deep below their vile hatred of Seth Rollins, they still had hoped a piece of their Shield brother remained in the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Roman had accepted a long time ago the Seth they knew was probably buried underneath a ton of trust issues and guilt over what he did to his brothers. The new villainous Seth seemed to keep the fun loving guy locked up down there and hardly, if ever showed the world him. It seemed Dean still had a glimmer of hope for the possibility of a Shield reunion if he could just break the old Seth out of his jail.

"I just wondered," Dean answered quietly playing absentmindedly with his hands twitching at his sides, "You know Lex Luthor came back from being a villain numerous times to help Superman and Batman in their fight against evil. Maybe…"

The older brother actually hadn't known that tidbit of information as he got up from the crate he was sitting on. His stomach was starting to growl pretty loudly now and he was surprised Dean hadn't cracked a joke about it. Maybe, Dean was too busy thinking if they found the right form of kryptonite it could trigger something in Seth. Seth could help them in their war against the Wyatt Family. Roman highly doubted it though especially with the Cena and Sting championship situation going on right now. If Dean wanted to try, all the power to him, but Rollins was The Architect and planning was his game.

All they could do though was wait and see if Seth would come help them. If not, it would be up to the two of them to be the last ones standing when the dust settled in their war against the Wyatt Family.

"You know all the chocolate cake is probably gone by now," Roman said in a bit of a disappointed growl distracting Dean from his thoughts. The Lunatic frowned looking toward his brother with a sympathetic shrug, he had been really worried about this whole dark side situation earlier and wanted Roman's thoughts and opinions. He also wanted to know if he needed a contingency plan in case his brother did betray him. He really didn't want to be left again especially alone with no one there to support him.

"I think this was a conversation we needed to have and I feel a bit better now," Dean answered, "I really shouldn't listen to the locker room gossip, should I, Supes?"

Roman rolled his eyes and laughed, "No you shouldn't, Bats, no you shouldn't. Hey, maybe catering has some of those chocolate brownies we like so much left? Those are always better than chocolate cake. Think we can convince the catering girl to make us some?"

"Oh, you know it," answered Dean with a smile as Roman wrapped his arm over his shoulders in a brotherly fashion as the two walked down the hallway laughing and goofing off all way to catering.

The End

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a/n i: Reviews are the wrestler of your choice bringing you a a chocolate fudge brownie from the catering company of life! Thanks for reading!