Hold Me Forever

Emotions

She sat on the infirmary bed, her legs crossed beneath her as she stared out the window across from her.

Arez had stayed by the door, in case of another escape attempt. She had no intention on trying again, though.

Without her powers, she was practically useless. Sure, she had been trained by her father, but she wasn't nearly as good as he was. And Arez had been trained by his father, Red X. And he was good. Good enough to beat Nightwing in multiple battles.

Rhiannon thought about the man in the skull mask. Where had he gone? She hadn't heard about him since his attack on Arez.

That would've been two months. Surely he was still out there somewhere?

Rhiannon thought back to her time with The Joker, recalling some of his words.

"I can't believe I trusted that empty skull to catch you! The two of them, really."

Rhiannon looked up at him while he held the crowbar to her leg, scowling.

The Clown Prince of Crime smiled, but sighed as he continued.

"They both failed. But now we're here! You and me! Harley did a good job with you, catching you in your own room."

Rhiannon was out of  it, not really paying attention. But, she wanted to stall him from using his other methods of torture on her, so she played along, pretending she cared.

"What happened to the two skulls?"

He answered her raspy words in a light tone, but it had underlying danger.

"The older one got what he deserved for failing me. The younger one? He's out there somewhere. And I plan on laughing at his corpse as well!"

Rhiannon looked to Arez quickly, then back to the window, the gears turning in her brain.

Surely The Joker hadn't killed Red X? There could be other "skulls" he could've hired, right?

Wrong.

Rhiannon knew, deep down, that Red X was dead. She didn't want to believe it, for Arez's sake. But he was dead. He really was.

Nothing could change that.

She just hoped his death had been quick and painless. But her hope was outweighed with reality.

Rhiannon knew how much The Joker liked hurting people, and she was sure Red X was no exception. She was positive Red X had gotten the worst of the worst for his "failure" to catch her.

She sighed, her hands in her lap as she sat quietly, waiting for her parents. She knew they would be in here soon, and that meant she had to prepare herself for their stares and questions.

Cyborg would probably come in and run one last test on her, to make sure she was healthy.

At least physically.

Then Raven would take over with the mental/emotional health. Boy, that would the fun.

Her father? He would probably ask her what she experienced and then beat himself up over it for not arriving sooner.

Rhiannon needed to stop thinking so much. It was going to make things harder for her. And that was the last thing she needed. She cleared her throat, swallowing silently as she spoke into the air.

"Have you heard from your father lately?"

She felt more than heard Arez inhale sharply.  She really shouldn't bring it up, but she needed something-anything-to distract her from her parents.

She heard him shift slightly, probably trying to figure out what to say. She bit her lip, waiting for an answer.

"No."

Short, subtle. She had a sudden feeling that he knew what had happened to his father. She continued anyways.

"Do you know where he is?"

She heard him swallow harshly, and she knew she was getting to him. But, it was helping distract her, so she let him speak.

"I don't."

She decided to be somewhat blunt, hoping his emotions would wash over her and swallow her mind, keeping her from thinking about the future events.

"You do."

She sighed after her words as his emotions hit her. It was a relief to know she could still feel other people's emotions.

But, there was only one problem. She couldn't distinguish one from another.

She guessed that it was from the fact that she had none, so she couldn't base
others' off her own.

She could only guess, which was a real pain, considering some people wore their poker face everywhere.

Like her mother.

Rhiannon pushed that thought from her mind, letting Arez's feelings take up her whole world.

She guessed that he was feeling some type of surprise, probably anger, too.

He looked at the back of her head, and she could feel his gaze. She didn't turn around, though. She just let him say what he had to say.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She huffed, inhaling deeply, and then exhaling somewhat loudly.

"Yes, you do. You know what happened to him. If I could figure it out, then I know yo-"

"Shut up."

She wasn't expecting him to say that. She thought he would let her break him down, as he wallowed in all of his emotions. In his sadness, anger, guilt.

She raised a brow, her hands coming to rest on her knees. She glanced back at him, and she saw that he was still, his arms across his chest as he swallowed harshly.

He was holding back. Probably from busting into tears. While it was true his father was a bad guy, that didn't change the fact that he had spent 14 years by his side.

For Gods sake, his first word was "daddy".

Rhiannon stared down at her hands, listening to her own breathing for a few moments, before pushing him even further, knocking down his wall completely.

"Arez. Your father is d-"

"I know. I know he is. But please, don't say it. It'll make it real."

She rolled her eyes at his display of weakness. He was sitting in one of the chairs now, his head down, hands clasped in his lap.

"It is real." She said, stretching her now numb legs and standing from her spot on the bed.

"He's dead. And there's nothing you can do about it."

She walked into the bathroom, shutting the door on him and sitting on the floor, thinking about the numbness in her mind that came even after letting his emotions bombard her.

But it had still been worth it, because now she had no thoughts about her parents or what would come next.