Cold-Blooded

Pain

"Seriously?" Was the only question that came to Alias's mind when she burst into her room. She didn't want to believe Breaker, but this made her reluctant about him telling the truth or not. But no, Breaker wasn't joking; he was sitting there in the most docile manner possible in the centre of her room, although the sheet of sweat on his forehead perceived otherwise, with the Arkham Knight aiming a pistol at his temple. "Knight, put the gun down."

"Not until you tell me the truth."

"What...what are you talking about? I have nothing to hide."

"It's funny you say that because you have plenty. I've been watching you closely, Alias, and you're not what you say. In fact, you should be dead." She blinked.

"What? I-I don't understand..."

"I've got guys finding out who you are, everything about you...you really don't know who you are, do you?"

"What are you―" Alias's sentence was cut short as a pair of hands clamped something around her throat from behind, and the Knight raised his head as she crumpled onto the floor and clawed at the carpet as the agony rushed through her muscles and restricted her response to screaming away the pain. She rolled onto her back as her face twisted and warped, tears pouring down her cheeks and her face flushing red.

"These were located on-site where Syndicate tried to ambush us, neat little collar. From the looks of it, they used the collar to keep you sedated and was strong enough to limit your powers." The Knight moved away from Breaker, who let out a quiet, shaky exhale of relief, to squat in front of Alias and see her slowly fall into a trance, her usually glassy eyes dulling away and her struggling lessening. He placed a gloved hand around her throat and she shuddered. "Enough to make you mortal. Didn't know that, did you?"

"...s-sir," Breaker cut in, although he felt his opinion was going to get him killed but realised Rex wanted to step in. "You're gonna kill her."

Alias reached for the Knight with tired eyes, her fingers curling around his forearm as strength spilled out of her, the unusual collar providing more use than it was worth. He didn't think it was going to work at all. "You're right." The Knight grabbed the collar and ripped it from her neck and hesitated at the bruising it left behind, but Alias was too busy recovering to notice. She gritted her teeth while the burning sensation bubbled and fizzed but gradually numbed away. She rolled again, onto her chest.

"I...never knew...I was dead," she finally answered him, her voice as strained as her attempt to push herself off the floor and held up a weak hand in rejection when Rex wanted to help her up. "I only know...what they wanted me to know..."

"Your cause of death was hypothermia and the location was London. You're a long way away from home and you didn't even know."

Alias had gotten off the floor and straightened up, losing her balance just when she found it and fell into a pair of muscular arms. Using them as support she steadied herself, her legs still shaking under her weight. "You say it...as if I wanted this to happen."

He packed away his firearm, "I never said you did."

"But, just now...you lost your faith in me. You thought I...surrounded myself in lies...to hide myself away. So tell me..." She pushed herself off the blonde man and staggered towards the Arkham Knight, falling against his chest as her knees buckled under her. "Are you...just as broken as me?" The Knight only looked at her, unable to fathom a suitable reply as she collapsed onto him, the strenuous amounts of pain she was forced to endure enough to suspend her. He didn't mean to put her through that, he wanted to prove something; before he let her fall he swept her off her feet seamlessly, putting her in the bridal carry with her head resting on his shoulder.