Chapter 2: Punishing Consequences
A/N: So here's the second chapter in this story. I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. Your kind words mean the world to me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. And congrats to Seth Rollins for winning Superstar of the Year. I was so glad when he showed up. And now, on with the story.
Disclaimer: WWE and all related characters belong to Vince McMahon. I only own the plot and nothing more.
Hunter was angry as he paced his wife's hospital room. Due to being triple powerbombed by The Shield, Stephanie had been taken to a local medical facility though they said she would be released the next day. Hunter was going to make The Shield pay for what they did.
"I can't believe they would do this!" he raged. "Who do they think they are attacking a helpless woman like that?"
Stephanie glared at her husband. "I'm not helpless, Hunter," she corrected him.
"I didn't mean it like that, Steph," Hunter said hurriedly. "But they need to pay for what they did, and I think I know how to do that."
"That's good, but could you go and get me a Firehouse Sub?" Stephanie asked. "I'm craving a Club on a Sub."
"Now, baby, you know those things are full of fat," Hunter told her. "I'll get you a Subway sandwich instead."
Stephanie glared at her husband, an evil gleam in her eye. "I want a Firehouse Sub," she said in a low voice. "I have a craving for a Club on the Sub with everything on it. If you don't get it for me, you will feel my wrath!"
Hunter blanched at his wife's stare. "Okay, honey, whatever you say," he said, and he hurried out of the room to fulfill her whim.
At the nearest Firehouse Subs, Hunter waited in line to order for Stephanie. The restaurant was packed with patrons, but most of them didn't give the COO a second glance, much to Hunter's relief. He figured he could just give his order with no problem, which he did. Just as he was waiting to pick up his order, two men approached him.
"Hey, are you Triple H?" one of them asked. He had brown hair and glasses.
"Yeah, I am," Hunter replied.
The guy laughed. "Yeah, we saw what happened to your old lady on Monday," he said. "That was hilarious."
His friend nudged him. "Now, Jim, that's not very nice," he chastised. "It was horrible what The Shield did to Stephanie."
Jim glowered at his friend. "Hey, you laughed just as hard as I did when it happened, Bob," he countered.
"I did not!" Bob protested. "I was heartbroken for her!"
"Look, Stephanie is gonna be fine, and I'm already plotting what I'm gonna do to The Shield," Hunter said.
Bob's eyes lit up. "Really? What are you going to do?"
Hunter smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out," he replied. His order was up, so he waved to the two men and picked up his order. He hurried to the hospital and gave the food to Stephanie.
"Why didn't you get anything for yourself?" Stephanie asked.
"I'm not hungry," Hunter said. "I'll get something later. Look, I wanna outline what I'm gonna do to The Shield."
"Okay, tell me," Stephanie said as she ate her sub.
Hunter leaned in and outlined his plan to his wife. Stephanie smiled and started laughing.
"I love the way your mind works," she said. She leaned in and kissed her husband.
Hunter smiled. Soon, The Shield would pay for what they did to his beloved wife, and all would know not to mess with the Boss.
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Meanwhile, The Shield was still celebrating their victory. They knew they'd get punished, but it didn't matter to them, and it shouldn't have. They were on top, and hopefully Hunter would know who was running the show.
RAW came around, and all of the wrestlers were congratulating them on what they did to Stephanie.
"Good job, boys," John Cena said as he clapped them on the back. "That bitch deserved what she got."
"I'm glad someone had the guts to stand up to her," Daniel Bryan added. Although he wasn't cleared to wrestle, he still showed up at the arena to support his fellow Superstars.
"Thanks, guys," Seth said. "I know now that I never should have trusted them."
The show started with Triple H coming out to the ring, a very unhappy look on his face.
"He definitely doesn't look happy, Michael," JBL commented.
"No, I can only imagine what he has in store for The Shield," Michael Cole added.
"Last week, The Shield crossed the line," Hunter began. "They not only took me out, but they gave a triple powerbomb to my beautiful wife, Stephanie. She's not here tonight because she's afraid of what they could do next. You boys don't seem to know the meaning of the word respect. You don't understand what Stephanie is to me. She's my wife, the mother of my children, and a dedicated worker."
"She's also a dirty slut," Dean Ambrose muttered, causing Seth and Roman to laugh.
"So, you boys need to learn the meaning of respect, and you'll do that in a handicap match against the Wyatt Family."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Piece of cake," he said. "Let those boys try and hurt us. We can take them."
"I don't know about that, Dean," Seth said. "Braun Strowman looks like he could be a challenge."
"Since when do we run from a fight?" Dean demanded.
"We don't," Seth answered. "I'm just trying to be realistic, and I haven't been back that long."
"We've got your back, Seth," Roman reassured him. "We won't let anything happen to you."
Seth nodded, but he couldn't help but be nervous about it. What if he got injured again? What would that do to the group?
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The lights dimmed as the Wyatts appeared on the Titantron to give a promo.
"There is a saying that says, 'As ye sow, so shall ye reap,'" Bray Wyatt said. "It seems The Shield think they can do whatever they please. They think they are tough and that they can take on anyone. But they have forgotten about my family. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are well acquainted with us, and Seth Rollins, you will know who we are soon enough. And when we are done with you, The Shield will be no more. Run!"
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"And now it's time for our main event," Michael Cole declared.
The lights went out as the Wyatts made their way out to the entrance ramp. Bray held the lantern as he usually did, and his family followed in his wake. He blew out the lantern, and they entered the ring.
"What has The Shield gotten themselves into?" questioned JBL.
"Sierra Hotel India Echo Lima Delta Shield."
"Special Op" played as The Shield made their way through the crowd. They touched hands and accepted high fives for their actions.
"This is sick!" JBL grumbled. "They attacked an innocent woman and the crowd is lapping it up like the sheep that they are!"
"Well, The Shield is very popular, John," Michael Cole pointed out. "Fans have been wanting them to get together for a long time now."
"Hopefully, they can get through the Wyatts tonight," Byron chimed in.
The three men vaulted over the barricade and entered the ring, staring down at the Wyatts. Bray gave a signal, and Harper, Rowan, and Strowman started attacking. Rollins dealt with Rowan, Ambrose with Harper, and Roman took care of Strowman. Bray just stood to the side, a smile on his face as he watched his family fight The Shield. Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Harper and helped Rollins with Rowan. The two men double teamed on Rowan, but Rowan took them down with a clothesline. Strowman threw Reigns out of the ring and to the floor.
With a sick smile, Strowman turned his attention to Rollins. Ambrose tried to defend his friend, but Harper laid him out. Then, in a mockery of The Shield, the three men set up Rollins for a triple powerbomb. Bray stopped them and motioned that they do it on the announce table. The men smiled and got out of the ring and powerbombed Rollins. Just as they were celebrating, Roman took out Harper with a spear. He tried to spear Strowman, but the big man dodged it and took Roman out himself. Then they brought Seth into the ring and Strowman made the cover for the win. The Wyatts stood over the prone Rollins and touched their fists together in another mockery of The Shield.
After the Wyatts left, Roman and Dean hurried to Seth's side.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked his friend.
"No," Seth groaned. "They got me good."
"Does your knee hurt?" Roman asked him.
"No, but I'm still sore," Seth answered.
"Let's get you out of here," Roman said. They helped Seth up and assisted him to the back where he was checked out by one of the trainers.
"He'll be sore, but there's no lasting damage," the trainer said.
"Good," Roman said. "Let's get back to the hotel."
The three men changed into street clothes and left for the hotel. Seth was very sore, and it showed in every movement, but he didn't want to worry the others about it. He had gone through worse than this pain after being injured. They arrived at their room and turned on the TV to see what else was on.
"I think I know something that could cheer us up," Dean suggested.
"Please don't say it's a strip club," Seth groaned. "I don't feel like going out tonight."
Dean shook his head. "Nah, I have a better idea. I'll be right back." He left the room, leaving Roman and Seth to wonder what he was up to. They sat and watched some bad reality TV, making fun of the women for a bit until Dean got back. He was carrying a bag and some drinks.
Roman read the name on the bag. "Ben's Soft Pretzels?" he queried.
Dean nodded. "Yep, nothing like Ben's Pretzels to cheer you up," he said. "I even got different dipping sauces because I wasn't sure what you guys would go for." He handed them each a cup of the small pretzel bites. Seth took one and some cheese sauce for himself. Roman opted for cream cheese while Dean had marinara sauce.
"Dude, why did you pick marinara sauce?" Seth asked him.
"I like to be different," Dean replied.
They ate their pretzels and watched a few different TV shows. Seth was still sore, but the treat did make him feel better about everything that had happened, and he was happy watching TV and joking with his brothers. It almost felt as if he'd never left The Shield or had turned on them. Doing that had been the worst mistake of his life after what Hunter just did to him. How could he have fallen for Hunter's tricks?
"Seth, are you okay?" Roman asked, a look of concern on his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Seth answered. "Just thinking about Hunter is all. We have to get him back for this one, but I don't know what we can do about it."
"Maybe we can go to a zoo and get some snakes and release them into his office," suggested Dean.
"Dean, you know that's a horrible idea," replied Roman.
"Well, what do you have in mind then?" Dean asked the Samoan.
"We'll just have to see what they throw at us next," answered Roman. "Either way, we'll be sure to show them that they can't mess with us. But if the Wyatts get after us again, we can pay them back in full."
"I know they'll have more tricks up their sleeve," Seth muttered. "I know them too well."
A light went on in Dean's head. "Hey, that's right," he said. "You DO know them well, Seth."
"What are you getting at, Dean?" Roman asked.
"Seth spent a lot of time with Hunter and Stephanie, and that means he knows a lot about how they work," Dean explained. "We can use that to get back at them. Turn the tables on whatever they're planning. I'm sure they told Seth lots of stuff they were planning to do before he got injured and before they turned on him to gain his trust."
"As a matter of fact, they did," Seth said with a smile.
"See? So we use that to get back at them," Dean said.
Roman smiled. "I like the way your mind works, Ambrose. You're a sneaky son of a bitch."
"Don't forget crazy, too," Dean added.
"Okay, well, let's talk about it more in the morning," Seth suggested. "I'm beat."
"You need ice for your back?" Roman asked him.
Seth nodded. "Yeah that would work."
Roman got some ice for his friend, and Seth sighed with pleasure at how good it felt. Yes, he had a feeling their plan would work, and when it did, The Authority would be taken down for good. With that last thought in his head, Seth fell asleep along with his brothers. There would be no stopping them this time. The Shield would prevail, and everyone would know who was really on top this time.
A/N: And that's the end of another chapter. I had fun with it and hope you all enjoyed it too. Now, I will say that I probably won't update again until after the Christmas holidays since many of you will be celebrating with your families and probably won't have time to read my work or anything else. And I will update Chronicles of the Shield in time, too, but I'm having a lot of fun with this story, so I'll be concentrating on this one a bit first. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.