Kidnapped by Quinn

12: The Red-Headed Boy

Erza laid in a sleeping bag on the floor. She barely slept at all. Each time she closed her eyes she was meet with the cruel nightmares of her parents faces, their crooked smiles, and their chilling laughs. She finally stood up and snuck downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hey Erza." Tim's voice yawned and made her jump from surprise as he sipped a cup of coffee and leaned against a counter. "I'm sorry did I scare you?"

"I thought you were resting..." He needed rest. You could tell from the dark circles under his eyes, the dead tone in his voice, and the scars that covered his face and arms. "You look horrible..."

"Well that's what happens when you're kidnapped by Quinn." He gave a low cold chuckle that was meant to lighten the mood but didn't. "What are you doing up?"

"I was going to grab some water. I can't really sleep... I've never had nightmares before so... It's really... Terrifying..." She admitted with a sigh. "I feel so bad that they hurt you, I just-"

"It's okay. If I was worried about getting hurt I wouldn't be a hero. I would just quit being Red Robin and be a ordinary person." He took a long sip of coffee and smiled lightly at her. "Doesn't that seem boring though? Also, I'm not like Ansley I can't have be both my dream profession and a hero."

"Speaking of Ansley... What can you tell me about her and Chelsea?" She sat cross legged on the counter next to Tim and took the coffee cup out of his hands.

"Well, they are the perfect team. When they're their normal selves, Chelsea is the more serious one and Ansley is the silly one. The roles change when they become Batgirl and Lightspeed. Chelsea is more silly and not so serious while Ansley goes into Cadmus mode."

"What's Cadmus mode?" She sipped the coffee and listened intently with wide eyes.

"You have coffee on your nose." He rolled his eyes before wiping it off with his thumb. She smirked before quickly capturing his thumb into her mouth and licking the coffee off.

"Is it gone?" She asked and moved closer to him while biting her lip which made Tim uncomfortable as he looked at the ground.

"Ansley was made by Cadmus. They made her into a female clone of the Flash. They made her female because a slim female body would be easier to conform for speed than a guy's." He explained. "Cadmus mode is when she doesn't act like her normal sweet self and turns into this scary fighting... monster..."

"I can't imagine her like that." She set down the cup on the counter. "I'm so worried that I'm going to screw up my friendship with them... What if- Nevermind you probably don't care." He moved over to her and sat on the counter beside her.

"I probably shouldn't care. You brainwashed me, kidnapped me, let your crazy clown parents beat and torture me..." He dragged out the words in a way that would remind someone of nails against a chalk board. His voice was so cold and lifeless it hurt to hear.

"I said I'm sorry. If I could redo everything then I would've just stayed in my room. Just me and my pup. Watching the guy of my dreams be so close to capturing but never trying." She let a deep sigh out, and he put his hand on her cold white hand.

"Erza, you did what you thought would make you happy. That's great. You tried to reach what you thought would complete you. Here's the thing, no guy will ever make you complete. You being yourself will make you complete."

"...Do you wanna bake some cupcakes?" She asked suddenly and jumped off the counter. "In a big mansion like this you guys should have some cake mix."

"There might be some but-" He stopped talking when she pulled out red velvet cake mix. "Alfred usually makes it from scratch... but Jason likes to cook from the box..." He walked over next to Erza as she was pulling a mixing bowl down from a high cabinet and took it from her.