"Here", says Red X and places a tray of food in front of me.

I look up at him, I'm so weak and tired. I have no idea how long I've been tied up.

"Eat", urges Red X, now sitting across from me.

"How do you expect me to eat if I am tied up?", I ask.

Red X laughs and picks up a forkful of food. "I'll feed you then."

I spit out the food he forces in my mouth. "It's poisoned?"

"Are you serious?", he asks me. "What's the point of going through all that trouble kidnapping you, just to kill you the next day?" So I've been here a day. "He doesn't work like that. Not until he gets what he wants."

"And what does he want from me?", I ask him. Knowing the obvious answer.

Red X leans back. "I don't know. I mean the only thing I know is that he's been looking for you quite some time."

I sigh and look away from him. I want to go home. I want to be with Richard. "Please let me go."

"I can't do that cutie", he tells me.

Tears running down my cheeks. "Please? I am so scared." He doesn't say anything. "You are not like him. I can tell."

He stands up, grabs the food, and throws it in the trash. "Don't let him hear you say that. He'll do some damage."

He starts to make his way through the door. "No wait!", I call back. "Please, please don't leave me alone. I won't say anything anymore. Please, I don't want to be alone."

I hear him sigh. He walks back over to his chair and sits down. It remained quiet for a while. Just him watching me. "How old are you?"

I lick my lips, keeping them moist. "Seventeen."

He nods slowly. "Senior in high school?"

"I just finished my junior year", I tell him. "I will be a senior next year. Well...I was going to be a senior." I stare at his mask skull. "What about you?"

"I don't go to school as you can tell", he says.

"How old are you?", I ask him.

He sighs. "Uh...twenty."

"What is your name?", I ask him.

He crosses his arms. "I'm not allowed to tell you that. Look, cutie, I know what you're trying to do. It's not going to work."

"I am merely engaging in small talk", I tell him.

"You talk funny", he says.

"English isn't my first language", I tell him.

"Where are you from?", he asks.

"I was from Tamran. Now I am from here", I say.

Red X places a finger on his ear and I could hear a static voice. "Uh huh...okay." He removes his finger and stands up. "Looks like we're moving you to a different room."

"A different room?", I ask.

He cuts off the wires and removes the rope. "Don't even try to run away. You'll have no where to go."

He picks me up over his shoulder. I really don't want to be staring at your butt. Just imagine it's Richard's. Oh Richard. I miss you so much. With a thump I land on a bed.

My eyes widen. "No!"

"Relax", says Red X, holding my hands back. "I'm not going to touch you." He grabs my hands and handcuffs me to the bed. He then ties my feet with rope. "There."

My eyes are still wide and I try to move from him. My body shaking. Memories flooding back in my mind.

"I'm not going to touch you", says Red X again. "I promise."

"Just...just...leave me alone", I tell him. "I wish to be left alone."

Red X clears his throat and stands up. He leaves the room without a word.

The next day I woke up with a start. I look around my surroundings, lifting my head up. It's not a dream. It's not a dream. I sigh and place my head back down.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." I look over to see Red X reading the newspaper. "You made the front page!" He lifts the newspaper up.

"Kori Anders, girlfriend of Richard Grayson, is missing", I read. "Where is our golden boy's princess?"

"You must be really famous", says Red X placing the paper down.

"I'm not", I tell him. "My boyfriend is." I raise an eyebrow. "It is only a matter of time before they find me."

"They won't", says Red X confidently.

I roll my eyes. "I need to pee."

"Are you kidding?", he asks.

"No", I say. "I've been tied down for two days. I'd go right now, right here, but I want to save you the trouble of cleaning up."

Red X grunts and gets up. He unties my feet and unlocks my handcuffs. He grabs the back of my now, dirty and torn dress, and pushes me towards the bathroom. He opens the door and I walk in.

I turn to him. "I need privacy."

"No way", he tells me.

I cross my arms. "I'm not going when you're watching."

He sighs and turns around crossing his arms.

"No peeking", I tell him. I quickly pull down my underwear and go. It's not as awkward when your life is on the line.

I flush the toilet and place my underwear back on. I walk over to the sink and wash my hands. I look into the mirror, the first time I'm looking at my reflection in so long. There is a cut on my lip and a bruise on one side of my cheek. My hair...goodbye beautiful and healthy hair. I place some water on my face, wincing when my hand touches my bruise.

"Sorry about that", apologizes Red X. "I didn't mean to really hurt you."

I ignore him and use the paper towels to dry myself. "I am ready to go now."

He takes me back to the room and ties me down.

"Want to watch some t.v.?", he asks.

"No", I reply.

He walks over to the box t.v. and turns it on. He flips through the channels. As he is flipping channels I notice my mother on t.v.

"Wait!", I yell. "Go back!"

He goes back to the channel. I'm right. My mother is on the news.

"If anyone has seen or knows of my daughter's where about, please tell us. We miss her a lot and just want her back home. We'll give anything to have her with us right now. Thank you." My mother steps off the stage.

I look down.

"Kori?"

I look back up. Richard.

"If you're listening, just know I'm coming for you. Just know that you'll be home soon. Be strong for me. Be brave. I love you so much." He steps off.

My father steps on the stage. "If that son of a bitch Slade is listening, know I'm personally coming for you! I won't stop until I have you beneath my feet! You piece of scum! You coward!"

Red X changes the channel. He leaves the channel on Cartoon network. Tom and Jerry is playing.

"They must really love you", he says.

I glare at him. "That's a family for you."

"Your dad must be mad", he tells me.

"Wouldn't yours be if you went missing?", I ask him.

Red X shrugs. "Probably not."

I give him a sympathetic look. Any child of Deathstroke's must have had a horrible childhood. I could only imagine what Red X could have gone through.

I return to Red X as I hear him laughing. I turn my gaze over to the t.v. to see Tom and Jerry performing their shenanigans. I let out a giggle.

"And so she laughs", I hear Red X say.

I immediately go into a frown. My family and loved ones are looking for me and hear I am laughing. There's no time for laughter. I need to get out before he kills me. I know he will kill me. It is only a matter of time.

"Why do you listen to him?", I ask Red X.

Red X adjusts himself at the end of the bed. "What do you mean?"

"Clearly you are not happy", I tell him. "So why listen to him?"

"He's my father", he tells me.

I shrug. "It does not make it a right. Just because he is your father does not mean it makes it okay for him to do these things."

Red X looks down. "I know. I just have to listen to him."

"Why?", I ask.

"Because he'll finish me", Red X says loudly, standing up. "You don't know what he'd capable of doing."

"I do know what he is capable of doing", I tell him. "He has tried some of those things to me."

"He has?", asks Red X.

"He was not successful", I tell him. "How do you think he got stabbed in the eye?"

"That was you?", asks Red X surprisingly. "He told me some guy in prison did that when he wasn't looking."

I shake my head. "I am telling the truth."

Red X sits back down. "How'd you do it?"

So the next ten minutes, I told him the story of how Deathstroke kidnapped me and took me away. I told him of the forest and of the hole. I told him of my time and what he would make me do. I told him how he made me undress and how I stabbed him before he could try anything. Somehow, the conversation turned. He told me a few of his experiences and now I understood why Red X is the way he is. I could tell he would leave blanks through his story. He told me of how Deathstroke beat him, how he would be punished for little things. He told me how Deathstroke blames him for his mother's abandoning. He told me how he has a little sister who left with his mother. I feel bad for him. I truly do. He has gone through so much and yet he still hasn't escaped his father's hand.

"I do not know how you do it", I tell him.

He shrugs. "Neither do I." He checks his wrist and I hear a yawn. "I'll see you tomorrow cutie."

I give him a nod. "Good night."

Red X pauses at the door for a moment. He moves his neck just a little before leaving.

I woke up with a thud. I open my eyes to look at Red X's butt. He's carrying me.

"X?", I mumble.

"Sh", he whispers. "Don't talk."

"Where-

"I'll explain everything later", he tells me quietly. "Act like you're sleeping."

I listen to him. I close my eyes. I don't know how long I was closing my eyes. Everything was dark and I couldn't see anything. I could hear wind and rustling. I think I even heard train tracks. Water drops? Was it raining? Where am I? So Scared. So Alone.

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