Sugar Rush | T. Drake ✔

[42] Reliving The Past

George Wilson had been informed by the vigilantes that his son had been recovered from Deathstroke's hold but he was put under treatment so George couldn't meet him immediately. They couldn't bring a civilian over to the Bat Cave so Nightwing had been sent to give him the information and reassure him that they would bring Luke to him soon as his condition stabilized.

Rose and Luke had been brought to the Cave along with the rest of the vigilantes. Batman had still not returned and there was no knowing where Tim and Deathstroke had vanished to either.

Lucas was ushered to the medical wing of the cave immediately and right then he was still unconscious, a heart rate monitor and an IV was connected to him and while everything else was normal about him, he still hadn't woken up.

Rose was extremely worried for him because she knew he would be very unstable once he did wake up from the comatose state he was in at the moment.

She didn't want the past to repeat but couldn't possibly do anything about it. However, she had assessed that Luke's resistance against the serum was stronger than it had been years ago such that he did snap out of the psychosis multiple times when she had forced him to recall her.

That meant they could control Luke to a certain extent and there was a slight comfort that the destruction caused would not be of extreme level if they managed to control him in time.

The vigilantes on the other hand were on the edge of their wits. Tim was missing and there was no knowing whether he had survived or not. And while they did not want to focus on anything other than retrieving their brother, they couldn't possibly neglect Rose and Luke either.

Robin and Red Hood had started their search for Red X and left from Deathstroke's hideout again, being supervised by Barbara as Oracle. Nightwing had just returned from George Wilson's place while Spoiler was in the medical wing with Rose, both keeping a watchful eye on Lucas.

The hours were passing by but there had been no significant development in Tim's search nor Luke's state.

The lines at the heart rate monitor were regulated, there was no sign of abnormality apparently yet the fact that he was still not gaining consciousness was a worrying aspect for them.

"Has this ever happened before?" Nightwing addressed Rose as he stepped into the medical wing, gesturing Spoiler to go out to Oracle.

"Once. Ten years ago."

He noticed that she had stiffened as if she didn't want to talk about it but he also knew that the less they knew about what actually was going on, the more risk it could be for all of them.

"Rose, you do understand that if you shut yourself out even at this time, we won't be able to help Luke recover. We need to know what's happening to him and how he had dealt with it earlier," his voice was soft, gently encouraging her to open up.

She took in a deep breath, not retrieving her gaze from her brother, "Father injected him with the serum that gave him his powers. He had done the same to me and Luke years ago when we both used to live with him and were being trained by him. The serum worked on me, giving me precognitive powers but it also made me very unstable and violent. He said it's a common reaction to the serum and that once I get accustomed to it, everything will adjust."

"And what about Luke?"

"His body reacted way differently to the serum and developed resistance to it. He was internally fighting against it, stopping it from working on himself. He didn't know how, it was an involuntary reaction," she paused, choosing her words carefully, "he did not get any powers from it, but resisting the serum messed him up terribly. He became extremely unstable and lashed out on both of us as if he didn't even know us... That night he destroyed everything including his own self. He would have killed Father if I hadn't stepped in between... It was horrifying..."

The expression on her face clearly showed that it was a memory she never wanted to relive.

"How did you stop him from killing Deathstroke?"

Her brow furrowed slightly, "I came in between, threatened him to go ahead if he really wanted to kill us. He stopped but nothing about him was normal back then. He was just so... So blank... Almost as if all his senses had extinguished. Almost as if he had died inside..."

Nightwing was listening closely because he wanted to be aware of what they could face in case Luke relapsed to a similar state as Rose had described.

"But he didn't attack us further, dropped the sword and fainted himself. Went into a very similar coma he is in right now. Our hideout was destroyed, the police had come due to the commotion that had been wrecked and they arrested Father. Later he was sentenced to Belle Reve. And I was placed with the Titans, as you very well must recall."

"I remember that. You were an excellent team member."

She shrugged off that remark, "Lucas had recovered eventually and all I knew was that his custody was given to Father's cousin George Wilson. I have no idea if he later suffered from the after effects of the serum just like I did nor do I know how he managed to deal with it. I met him after ten years due to Red X who told me Lucas was taken in by Father once again. I agreed to free him because he never was made for the life me and Father have led. He deserves a normal life, away from all these terrors we face. And yet I met him in the same state I had seen him last... In the same state that I can't help him out of."

She closed her eye, resting her head back because she was clearly exhausted. Nightwing was still pondering on all she had told him, drawing conclusions about what they could expect if Luke gained consciousness and how to deal with him.

"What I gather is that he didn't kill Deathstroke because of you. Somehow you made him snap out of it and fighting back had already taken a toll on him, exhausting him thus," he spoke up and she tilted her head to look at him.

"The same happened last night too, I somehow made him snap out of it," she mumbled, her voice low as she recalled the scene vividly, "I am not sure if he remembers me or not, perhaps he only knows me by name and can't recall anything else... If he gains consciousness now and retaliates, I might not be able to hold him back if he doesn't recall anything."

He nodded, "I see. So what you're implying is that if there's someone who Luke clearly remembers and cares for, that person might be able to make him snap out of the serum's effect?"

"Yes."

He stood up, thinking about all the people who could possibly help them out. He knew Luke cared about Dora because he had surrendered back when Shadow Walker had posed a risk to her life. And then he definitely cared about Stephanie, as he had been very worried for her back when Deathstroke had threatened to target her if he didn't comply with him.

Those two could be their best options at the moment.

"Where are you going?" Rose's voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"Wait here, I will just be back. I know exactly who can help us out with Luke. And if in case he starts to gain consciousness, tell Oracle through this comm," he handed her his communicator and left.

Rose took the communicator, silver eye flickering towards Luke again. The lines on the heart rate monitor were steady, his breathing was normal and nothing about him indicated that he would wake up anytime soon.

And though she didn't want him to remain in a comatose state for long, she didn't know whether they would be able to deal with all the chaos that could unleash if he woke up either.

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