Ever since Duke got attacked by the Joker, you hadn't left his side. Sure, you'd seconded the decision to crash at Tim's apartment with everyone else, but you didn't actually stay there. You'd just come back in the late hours, sleep for a few hours, then you'd be right back by Duke's side, just waiting for him to heal. You didn't speak to anyone, you barely ate, and you never took a break from your new post.

You hadn't done much other than just sit on the floor beside Duke's bed, staring into the distance like you were somewhere else. And for how much the Batfamily knew about your past, you probably were. You had lost your sibling to the Joker in the same way Duke almost died - getting kidnapped and slowly tortured until their body couldn't take it anymore. The thing was, you had to watch it all happen. It had scarred you in a way even you couldn't understand.

So when Duke almost died by the Joker, it happened all over again. The worry, the pain, the excruciating agony of anxiety and fear that the Joker was right behind you, just waiting for you to blink, to turn away, or to lose focus. You felt like you were underwater, a stranger to your own brain, running on autopilot.

And you didn't know how to turn it off.