Milk And Cardamom | S. Brown ✔

[38]

The vigilantes had returned to the Bat Cave after the tiring fight with Deathstroke and that mysterious shadowy figure. They were all exhausted and had sustained damage but not as much as compared to their temporary guest.

Lucas had been taken to the medical wing of the cave and his wound was treated there, thankfully the bullet had only grazed his leg and there was no need of performing a surgery. The wound on his leg and the slashes on his arms were wrapped up in bandages.

He had not yet gained consciousness and Stephanie was by his side the entire time though she hadn't yet changed out of her suit, not wanting to leave him for even a second.

Stephanie knew Luke had been troubled since the day the two had gone out to Robinson Square and there were times before as well when he had been slightly worried. He had always shrugged off her questions so she hadn't suspected it would be that serious but now that he was shot in the leg, accused of being involved with Deathstroke and had walked right into a death trap, she couldn't help but think that there was something dreadfully wrong.

Then there was another feeling that told her that Tim was somehow aware of it. He was the one who had told them Luke was in danger and he had been the first to defend the boy when Bruce had suggested the possibility that Lucas might be involved with Deathstroke.

Obviously Tim knew about it more than she or anyone else did. And it worried her because Luke was her boyfriend, he should have told her first of all if something was bothering him. But then he had probably not told his parents either.

"Steph, a word," Red Robin whispered and she looked up, green eyes evidently reluctant to leave Luke's side just then, "it's B. He wants to talk to you."

She stood up at last and followed him out to where Batman was waiting. None of them had changed out of their suits because they couldn't risk their identities being exposed if Luke gained consciousness.

Stephanie knew it was the time she would be asked to tell her side of the story to the rest of them and even though it shouldn't have been much of a problem, she felt slightly reluctant about it.

She had no idea why Luke had gone to meet Deathstroke by himself, everything was an utter confusion to her but it seemed as if Tim knew a lot than he let it show. Because out of them all, he was the only one who had no questions.

But then he was Tim Drake, the genius of the family. It wouldn't be surprising if he had worked out all the answers by himself already.

Luckily, Bruce didn't ask her much, noticing that she did not want to discuss her private life with any of them openly. In the meanwhile, Nightwing had stepped in to check up on Luke.

The boy's hazel eyes had fluttered open and he was blankly looking at his surroundings, not having any idea of how he got there nor what place he was kept in.

"Hey," he approached him cautiously, "how are you feeling now?"

He tilted his head to see him, "Nightwing...?"

"Yeah," he took the seat beside his bed, "we brought you to the cave, you had suffered an injury back then so..."

"I need to tell you something... It's very urgent," Luke spoke up immediately, interrupting him though the expression on his face depicted that he was clearly worried.

"Oh, sure. We had a few questions too but I thought that could wait."

"Deathstroke is not going to back off," he replied, his voice slightly unsteady, "you might have saved me from him this once but he's not going to give up."

"But why is he after you?"

"Because... Because we have unfinished business," he bit off the truth that was about to escape him, "Nightwing, you have to believe me. I have no intentions of taking part in any of his plans. But since I have refused, he's going to target people close to me. He'll... He'll target Stephanie first."

Surprise flickered on his features, "Stephanie?"

Since Luke wasn't aware that the vigilante knew Steph very well, he elaborated, "yeah. Stephanie Brown. He sent me an envelope this morning containing pictures of me and Steph and the letter enclosed stated that if I didn't turn up at the ACE chemicals factory, he would target her instead. I... I don't want her to come to any harm due to me. Please... Please see to it that she's safe..."

Spoiler and Red Robin were both standing by the door, listening to their conversation. Steph glanced sideways at Tim questioningly and he nodded, silently conveying to her that he would explain everything.

Red Robin stepped in at last and Luke's eyes flickered towards him immediately. "Don't worry, we are not going to let Deathstroke succeed in his plans, you have my word on that. However, I think your family would be getting worried for you. I will drop you wherever you're staying."

"I... I can't go home like this," he mumbled, eyes sweeping over his bandaged limbs, "Dad will get worried..."

"Is there some place else I can take you to then?"

He thought for a while then nodded, "Dora's Coffee Haunt."

"Sure," Red Robin agreed, "I will take you there. Just give me a couple minutes."

He gestured Steph to follow him out and when the two were out of Luke's hearing, Steph spoke up, "you owe me an explanation."

"I know," he replied, leading her further away, "but you'll have to promise me that it won't strain anything between you and Luke."

Green eyes flickered in uncertainty, "I don't know... He has been keeping a lot of secrets from me and you know the one thing I hate most is not being trusted."

"Think from his perspective, in fact it's not really that different from your own. Would you really tell anyone that you're Cluemaster's daughter?"

"Excuse me? What does this have to do with my past?"

He made her sit down on the chair, knowing that the following words would be a shock to her, "because Lucas is Slade's son. Just like you wouldn't bring the fact up that you were related to a criminal, neither would he. And just like none of us would judge you for being Cluemaster's daughter, I'm asking you to do the same for Luke."

She paused, letting the unbelievable words sink in. "But... How... How do you know?"

He explained, "I dug into his past and it turns out that he was the third son to Slade. The only son of his who has survived to date." Knowing that she would have difficulty believing it, he showed her the article he had found, "at first I had suspected Luke was the one spying on us so I started to keep watch on him, even slipped a tracker in his watch. That's exactly how I knew he had gone to ACE chemicals today and by all that happened just now, I am convinced he is not behind the attacks nor the spying."

She had read the highlighted paragraphs, brow furrowing in concern, "and now Slade wants him back?"

"It seems so. You heard him talking to Richard, it's clear Luke doesn't want anything to do with Slade nor his plans. And it's also clear that the shadow stalker and Deathstroke are working together. We will have to be twice more cautious now. And especially you since it's evident Deathstroke is going to target you because Luke cares for you."

A wave of rage struck her, "I would show him what he deserves if he came after me or Luke again."

"But then again, he's Deathstroke. He knows us far too much than it is safe for us," Tim resumed cautiously, not wanting to anger her further, "we will have to be on our own guard and think thoroughly before taking any other step. A lot of lives depend on our decisions now."

Steph didn't reply but Tim straightened, noticing the time on the clock, "I'm going to drop him off at Dora's. Might as well warn them to be careful too."

She nodded and watched him leave and though a lot of her questions had been answered, she still felt conflicted. She had gotten the answers but not from Luke. And that was something she couldn't look past.

***