Arcane: I have Plasmids F*** YEAAAAAAH!!!

Pain.

It wasn't sharp. Wasn't searing.

It was dull. Heavy. Constant.

A pressure on his chest, in his arms, in his skull.

Like his own body wasn't his anymore.

Like something else was pressing down on him, drowning him slowly.

Lukas inhaled—or tried to.

Something was covering his face.

Thick straps. Rubber. A hiss in his ears.

Gas.

His thoughts slipped. His pulse pounded.

He forced his eyes open.

And for a moment—

Nothing made sense.

The world blurred.

Green.

Everything was green.

A thick haze filled the air, curling in the dim light.

The cold bite of steel around his wrists.

The weight of chains holding him in place.

His boots barely touched the ground.

Trapped.

Restrained.

Like an animal.

And through the slow, sluggish pull of his mind—

Through the thick fog coating his thoughts—

He heard them.

Two figures.

Silhouetted by the dull glow of machinery.

Talking.

Not whispering.

Not even hiding it.

Because they thought he was too far gone to fight back.

Lukas clenched his jaw.

---

A flicker of light.

A glint.

Something small.

Held between pale fingers.

Glass.

Blood.

His blood.

"Fascinating."

Doctor Reveck turned the vial slowly, letting the light catch the liquid inside.

Silco sat on the edge of a metal table, his fingers tapping against his knee.

"Tell me something I don't know."

Reveck barely acknowledged him.

"The extraction was… difficult."

His voice was clinical. Detached.

"As if his very skin was resisting."

He turned the vial again.

"I had to reinforce the needle just to pierce through."

A hum.

"Curious."

Silco didn't look impressed.

His eye flicked toward Lukas.

Lukas stared back.

Glass-eyed.

But awake.

"The neurotoxin should have left him powerless."

Reveck placed the vial carefully on the table.

"But it didn't."

A slow exhale.

"Which means the answer lies here."

He tapped the glass.

"In his blood."

Silco's jaw tightened.

"He told me he wasn't a mage."

His voice was unreadable.

Reveck tilted his head slightly.

"His abilities are not magical in nature. That much is clear."

A pause.

"They are something else entirely."

Silco exhaled sharply.

"We don't have time for this."

Reveck didn't react.

"Science takes time."

Silco's fingers curled.

"The girl already contacted the Sheriff."

Reveck adjusted a dial on a nearby machine.

"She will meet them at the pawn shop."

A pause.

Then—

"Is Deckard ready?"

The doctor didn't look up.

"His injuries were severe."

A slow nod.

"But he should endure."

A beat.

"For now."

Silco stood.

His coat shifted as he moved toward the table.

"I'll be taking him to the Lanes. He has one final task."

Reveck inclined his head.

Silco turned, adjusting his cuffs.

"Join me at the shimmer factory when this is done."

Then—

He walked toward Lukas.

---

Silco stopped inches from Lukas's face.

Lukas didn't flinch.

Didn't look away.

And Silco saw it.

That fire.

That stubbornness.

That rage.

Even drugged, even bound—

Lukas was fighting.

And that?

That almost made Silco regret this.

Almost.

---

"I know you can hear me, Lukas."

Lukas's fingers twitched.

Silco exhaled.

"I didn't want this."

His voice was calm.

Almost… gentle.

"I truly didn't."

Lukas tried to move.

Nothing.

Silco's eye flickered.

"But you left me no choice."

A pause.

Then—

"I cannot let you stand in my way."

---

Silco turned.

Walked toward the door.

And Lukas?

Lukas watched him go.

And in that moment, one thought burned through the haze.

'I'm going to kill you.'

---

Time passed in pieces.

Seconds.

Minutes.

Hours.

He wasn't sure.

But he was aware.

Still here.

Still fighting.

And in the stillness of the lab—

He began to push back.

---

Pain.

Not sharp. Not searing.

Just there.

A dull ache. A weight pressing against his ribs, his limbs, his mind.

But pain meant he was awake.

Pain meant he was still alive.

The gas hissed softly in his ears.

That steady, rhythmic whisper.

His thoughts were sluggish.

His limbs heavy.

Like wading through thick, oil-black water.

But Lukas Fontaine didn't fucking break.

His fingers twitched.

Just a little.

A barely-there movement.

But it was enough.

Because the moment he felt it—

That brief, fleeting sensation of control—

He knew.

The gas wasn't infinite.

It was a controlled release.

A measured dosage.

Which meant…

Lukas inhaled slowly.

Shallow. Weak. Deliberate.

He was buying time.

Letting his body adjust.

Fighting against the poison inch by inch.

---

Somewhere in the lab, a clock ticked.

The air was thick with chemicals.

The sharp scent of antiseptic and something sour.

And in the dim glow of the overhead lights—

The metal restraints around his wrists shuddered.

Not much.

Barely anything.

But it was a start.

Lukas clenched his jaw.

Focused.

Pushed harder.

The chains trembled.

The air around him shifted.

Then—

A crack.

And Then—

Footsteps.

Two men.

Lukas stilled.

His head slumped forward.

Breath slowed.

His muscles went limp.

He waited.

The door creaked open.

"Shit, what was that?"

"Probably just the old pipes. This place is falling apart."

Two of Silco's goons stepped inside.

One of them had Lukas's revolver.

The other?

A bat.

Lukas kept still.

Eyes half-lidded.

Breathing slow.

Waiting.

"Think we should rough him up a little?"

The first guy hesitated.

Then—

"Yeah. Fuck it."

They stepped closer.

One reached for Lukas's mask—

A mistake.

A big mistake.

---

A pulse in the air.

And suddenly—

They weren't in control anymore.

Their bodies locked up.

Like invisible strings wrapped around their limbs.

Tight. Unrelenting.

Lukas lifted his head.

His eyes burned.

He exhaled slowly.

Then—

With a flick of his wrist—

BANG.

---

The sound echoed.

Sharp. Sudden. Final.

The goons collapsed.

A bloody heap on the floor.

And Lukas?

He smiled.

One problem solved.

Now onto the next.

---

The room was shaking.

The chains rattled.

The wall behind him cracked.

Lukas braced himself.

Then—

He tore himself free.

And in a low, dark voice—

One barely above a whisper—

He spoke.

"Should've killed me when you had the chance."

A breath.

"Time to save my family."