Only Because I Need You

Hiss Hiss

Caitlin felt the rough sand crunching below her feet. She pulled in a shaky breath, her heart throbbed in her chest. She was back in the arena. The crowd was louder than ever. She held her ground roughly twenty meters from her tunnel. Not that the tunnel would do her any good, but it was only to make herself feel more secure. The gate at the opposite end of the arena slowly began to rise and the crowd roared in excitement. Caitlin broke out into a cold sweat. She knew Killer Frost was always ready for a fight, but she still worried for her cold counterpart.

From the darkness of the adjacent tunnel a small figure appeared. It was a teenager, her blonde hair was pulled back from her face into a messy ponytail. Her clothes were baggy and scraggly, but they were by far cleaner and of better quality than the man Killer Frost had previously fought. She walked with a cocky swagger and a smug grin. Caitlin straightened herself up and took a few steps forwards, meeting the small teen in the centre of the arena. They were still standing a few meters apart, but Caitlin could tell the teen was itching to use her powers. A familiar cold sensation slithered down her spine. Caitlin felt herself loosing control of her body and before she knew it Killer Frost was standing in her place.

The teen scanned Killer Frost with an amused smile, "So you turn blue," she snorted, "scary,"

Killer Frost narrowed her eyes. Unlike Caitlin, she would be more than happy to throttle the child, "watch your mouth brat," she crossed her arms firmly over her chest.

"What was that?" The teen asked, her blue eyes shifted to a dark emerald green. Killer Frost froze. The moment she looked into the girls eyes was the moment she lost the match. Her body went stiff. She looked down at her body only to see a thick layer of stone creeping up her arms and legs. She shot the child a mean glare. The stone kept climbing until it was webbing across her face and encasing her entire body. Killer Frost's world was enveloped in darkness.

When Caitlin came to, she found her self back in her cell. She lay rigidly on her back. Every muscle and bone in her body was stiff and resistant to movement. She pushed herself into a sitting position with her aching arms. She blinked hard and attempted to remember anything that had happened to land her in such pain. She placed the palm of her hand on her forehead and fought a against a groan that threatened to escape her lips. She looked over to Ethan's side of the cell. He was watching her from the shadows, his eyes were glinting softly in the torchlight, "Are you Okay?" He asked, though his voice was both cold and hard.

Caitlin's mouth nearly fell wide open. She could not believe he had just shown concern for her, and willingly. His delivery was both rough and frigid, but that was to be expected of someone who had nobody but themselves to care about for quite some time. Caitlin suppressed the cheesy grin that threatened to take control of her face, "I'm alive," she replied.

"I suppose that's a good thing," he retorted. Caitlin lay back down onto the floor, her vision danced before her eyes. She clasped her hands over her stomach. She would have rolled her eyes, but there was no point if he couldn't see her. He had just showed that he did somewhat want her in decent health, so of course he had to follow up his concerned question with a sentence that would make her think he didn't really care. A few moments passed as the dry air shifted between them, "Caitlin, how do you plan on escaping? You can't use speedforce lightning to disable your chip,"

She sucked in a deep breath, "I'm not sure," she hummed, "I could freeze the chip whilst in the arena but that would only give me a few seconds of time to escape and that won't work," she let out a humourless laugh, "I suppose I will just have to find another way out," she knew what he was doing. He was telling her that he would not be helping her escape. That she had to do it on her own. She expected as much, Ethan did not trust other people, especially not people from Team Flash. So he was trying his best to let her know peacefully that they were talking about plans together, but they would not be escaping together. She understood, it meant they could not betray one another.

"I see," he mumbled.

Caitlin tilted her head to look at him. His gaze had fallen to the rocky floor as he sat against the wall. He jutted his jaw to one side. Caitlin could not tell what he was thinking. He seemed to be in a talkative mood. She bit down on her lip. When he had managed to steal the chip plans he had been brought back to his cell as a shivering mess. Caitlin could do nothing but watch from behind the bars as his body shook violently on the floor, every muscle in his body had been tensely vibrating, his eyes were peeled wide and had let out a constant whimper. The memory clung to Caitlin's mind. She had not seen Ethan that scared before. She had not seen Barry that scared before, "when you were dragged back to the cell after you..." she lowered her voice, "stole the plans," his eyes shot up to meet hers, "you looked terrified," she told him honestly. He sat back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. The light caught the contours of his clenched jaw, "What did they do to you?" She asked. She knew it wasn't really her business and that she was most likely overstepping their boundaries, but she wanted badly to know.

"What does it matter," he snapped, "I got the plans,"

She studied him for a moment. He had looked as though he was trapped in a traumatic memory, or perhaps even having a panic attack. To the extent of her knowledge, one of the most traumatic events of his life had been when he received his scar from future Barry. One of the guards that had dragged him back to his cell did have a taser hanging loosely from his belt. She sucked on her bottom lip, an image began to form in her mind. It was possible that Ethan had PTSD from his experiences, and the pain from an electric shock would surely be similar to the pain from a lightning bolt. Perhaps even similar enough to trigger a flash back, "the tasered you, didn't they?" She asked. The cold stones pressed hard against her back.

His eyes locked with hers. The look on his face made her want to squirm. He curled up his top lip and glared at her from below his eyelashes, "shut up," he snapped.

"So I was right," she hummed, "you were having a flash back of some sort,"

"Shut up!" He raised his voice louder than before, his face was ridden with anger. She could hear the increased whooshing of his breath. She looked closer, he was shaking slightly, it was difficult to see in the darkness, but her trained eyes could make it out.

She sat up and swung her body round to face him. She crossed her legs into a basket and gave him a sympathetic smile, "look, I already guessed that you had PTSD," she told him, "but I am a doctor Ethan, and I know when someone needs help, and after what I saw, you do," if he confronted his fears and past experiences, then it help him extinguish his psychotic desire to see Barry suffer, but she didn't say that. One step at a time.

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a shaky sigh, "Caitlin, I know you are trying to help, but just stop," his voice shook softly. Caitlin could tell he was still afraid, "I don't want your advice or your diagnoses,"

Caitlin bit down on her lip. She had a choice. She could attempt to push him further and risk him pushing back, or she could back down and leave him alone, "Okay, then don't listen to me, don't accept my advice, but just please go get help from someone," his eyes locked with hers once more, they weren't holding the glare they once had moments earlier, instead they were weary and sad, his face cracked with downturned wrinkles.

"I can't," his voice crackled with pain, "so just please stop Caitlin,"

Caitlin felt her gaze drop from his, "Okay, I will drop it, but please just consider getting help. Dealing with demons from the past is not easy, I know that, but it is so much easier with someone else,"

"I know," he murmured. Caitlin felt a small smile of achievement crawl across her face. She turned away from him and returned to her reclined position in the floor. Barry was in Ethan, under all the terror and betrayal. She could catch glimpses of her best friend occasionally, and they were enough to make her want to get closer to him. To help him towards the light.