(Disclaimer: violence, language, experimenting on humans, Aurora and Cole are referred to as "Subject 1 and 2," and a small mention of torture.)

The burning smell of antiseptic burned Aurora's nose as her eyes slowly blinked open. The harsh florescence of the white light above her burned her eyes. Next to her, a woman in a white lab coat was drawing blood from her vein. Aurora stopped feeling pain when they shoved needles through her skin years ago. She had grown accustomed to the small pinch of the needle and it, eventually, stopped bothering her.

"Subject 2," the woman spoke with a dull, mechanic voice. Aurora's eyes moved to look at her. "You know the consequences if you fail this next test." Aurora nodded, not because the woman was paying attention to her, but to tell herself that she understood. 

Aurora was given a name by the head scientist in charge of the experiment. He had the idea that calling them 'Subject 1' and 'Subject 2' was too dehumanizing. The other scientists did not share that same sentiment. They still called her 'Subject 2.'

"I know," Aurora mumbled, watching as the woman turned away from her to grab the familiar collar that brought her nightmares. 

"Sit up," the woman commanded. Aurora pushed herself up in a sitting position. The woman moved Aurora's hair away and roughly clasped the collar around her neck.

One thing she has never been able to grow accustomed to was the heavy weight of the collar around her neck. The device on the front dug into the front of her neck, making it difficult to breath most times. 

Once the collar clicked around her neck, the woman grabbed the thick cuffs hooked around her wrists and tugged her off the bed. Aurora followed behind the woman with her head down, the way she was conditioned to follow superiors. Aurora knew this walk entirely too much, it was burned into her brain the moment she turned 12, at least when they told her she was 12.

This walk would lead her to the giant, white room where the scientists would watch the two of them attempt to make their experiment work. The last time they attempted this experiment, Aurora and Cole spent two weeks in the infirmary.

"Bring in Cole," the head scientist demanded over the intercom. Aurora looked around, her eyes landing on the white walls in front of her. She hadn't noticed they had finally walked into the experiment room.

The door behind her moved and Cole was shoved inside, the male scientist behind him using more force than necessary. Cole stumbled next to Aurora, turning to glare at the man who carelessly shoved hm inside. Aurora glanced down Cole's body, glaring at the closed door when she noticed the blood dripping down his arm from where the scientist carelessly pulled the needle from his arm.

"I'm fine," Cole whispered down at Aurora.

"Take the cuffs off of them," the head scientist's voice demanded once more. Aurora and Cole turned, watching as two scientists rushed into the room, unlocking the cuffs from their wrists, before rushing out of the room, cuffs hanging from their hands.

Aurora rubbed her wrists as Cole glared at the small camera in the corner of the room. She knew she shouldn't do it, but Aurora brought a hand to her neck, pulling on the collar to relieve pressure. Once her fingers touched the collar, her body jolted as intense pain shocked her neck. She grunted in pain as the collar tightened in pain, shocking her skin.

"Turn it off," Cole yelled, kneeling next to Aurora, grabbing her shoulders as she clenched her jaw in pain. Aurora sucked in a deep breath once the collar loosened and the shock stopped. 

"Aurora," the head scientist's voice reprimanded her over the speakers. "You know better."

"You okay," Cole asked, eyes focused on her as he helped her stand. 

"I'm fine," she whispered, grabbing his arm to balance herself.

"Turn to the sensers," the man commanded after a moment of silence. Cole and Aurora glanced at each other before turning to the sensers on the wall. "You know what to do."

Cole looked down at Aurora and let out a breath. They slowly brought their hands together and looked back to the sensers. Aurora could feel the rush of nerves flowing through her body as a golden glow shone from their joined hands. She could feel the air brushing her arms and face as the gold tendrils of power wrapped up their arms. The hands that weren't joined together raised, palms facing the sensers. Aurora's vision cleared as the sensers aligned. Bright golden light pushed its way through their palms, blinding the two of them. Aurora barely noticed the lights flickering violently and the sparks crackling from the wall. Once the golden light pushed back into their palms, Aurora and Cole dropped their hands and stared at the wall. The wall caved in, cracks decorating the white wall, the sensors falling from the wall or bent together.

"Excellent," the man's voice exclaimed. Aurora and Cole looked at each other before they slowly blinked, eyes heavy and weak. Their eyes shut as they both fell to the floor, sleep taking over their bodies as they hit the cold linoleum.

~*~

Cole's eyes slowly blinked open. His body hummed with pain but he didn't care. He turned over, eyes searching for Aurora. She lay in the bed next to him, eyes closed as she slept peacefully. As peaceful as a science experiment could sleep.

"Rory," he whispered, wincing as he moved his arm. He lightly pushed against her arm and grimaced at the pain stabbing his shoulder. "Come on, Rory." Aurora's arm moved as her eyes slowly opened. She winced as she moved her head to look at him.

"Cole," she mumbled. He brought his arm back onto his bed and he stared at her.

"We can do it now," he mumbled. "We don't have the collars." Aurora glanced past him, watching the door. The medical room was empty, but she knew they were watching them.

Every other time they ended up in the medical room, the collars were kept secure on their necks. This time, their necks were bare. Aurora assumed that the scientists thought they were too weak to fight back. They might have been right.

"They'll kill us," Aurora protested. "Or it'll kill us if we try."

"Rory," Cole grunted. "They'll kill us if we stay here. You know that." Aurora stared in his eyes before sighing. 

"How will we do it," she asked. "They watch our every move. They know what we'll do before we even think of doing it. We're too weak to do anything. By the time we heal, we'll be back in our cages." Cole motioned to an extra IV in her hand.

"That," he said. "Whatever it is...it's keeping us weak. It's keeping us docile so we don't fight back. Do as I say, and you can take it out without them noticing. The other IV will flush it out of your bloodstream by the time they come to check on us. Then, we fight back." Aurora stared at him before glancing at the camera in the room. "Don't worry about the camera, it can't hear what we're saying."

"Tell me how to take it out," Aurora mumbled. 

Aurora watched as Cole twisted the tube connected to the needle. He pulled it away from the needle, tucking the tub between his fingers to give the illusion that it was still connected. He gently talked her through the motions, watching as she placed it between her fingers the way he had. 

Hours passed before the door opened. Aurora and Cole's weakened state had washed away an hour and a half after they disconnected the IV. The scientist wrote down their stats before moving to the regular IV, the one 'feeding' them and pulled it out. She moved to Aurora and repeated the action. Aurora watched as Cole sat up, raising his hands at the back of the woman. With a grunt, he threw his hands to the side, the woman's body following the motion of his hands. She yelped in surprise before her body crumbled to the floor, unconscious by how hard she collided into the wall. 

Aurora pushed herself up, holding her palm toward the camera. She watched as the shield formed in front of the camera before she pulled her arm toward her and pushed out. The shield smashed against the camera, destroying the device at the connection. The pieces of the camera crumbled to the ground as the door flew open and people with stun guns forced their way into the room. Aurora threw her hand out, shielding her and Cole as they shot at them, while Cole threw his hands up before throwing them away from each other. The people flew to the walls, their guns clattering to the ground. Aurora moved to stand next to Cole as more people filed into the room. More guns.

Aurora held a shield in front of her and Cole as her other hand raised next to her. A small shield formed above her palm, spinning in a rapid circle. She made a slicing motion with her hand and watched as the blade flew through the air, slicing into the guns. Cole raised his hands, eyes focused on the guns in the hands of the people in front of them. The guns shook as Cole focused his eyes onto them. Cole made a tearing motion with his hands and the guns ripped apart, the metal pieces clattering to the ground. Aurora dropped the shield in front of them and made two between the groups in front of them. She swiped her hands across her body and the shields moved, forcing the two groups to collide with the wall.

"Stop," the head scientist snapped as he ran into the room. Aurora and Cole glared at him before joining hands. The man stared in fear as the gold light filtered from their joined hands. The gold light wrapped around their arms as they slowly raised the hands not joined together, aiming them at the man. Cole and Aurora screamed in anger as the gold light forced its way out of their palms. The light blinded the two as it wrapped around the room around them. They could feel the force pushing from their hands, hitting the walls. They could feel the walls burst at the impact. They felt the air separating around them as the walls crumbled and exploded away from them.

The bright, golden light dimmed slowly and Cole and Aurora dropped their hands. They weren't in the medical room anymore, instead, they were staring at broken cement on the ground. Debris littered the ground around them. The two stood in an untouched patch of linoleum flooring, rubble and debris laying next to their feet. The two slowly unclasped their hands and turned to look at each other.

"Cole," Aurora mumbled in worry. Blood dripped from his nose, falling over his lips and dripping from his chin.

"Rory," he mumbled back to her. She raised a hand, touching the area under her nose. She pulled her fingers away and her eyebrows pulled together at the deep crimson blood staining her fingers. She dropped her hand down to rest by her thigh. 

Aurora could feel the ache in her head grow, and she knew Cole  could feel it. Their eyelids grew heavier and heavier every time they blinked. Cole watched as Aurora's eyes rolled back into her head and her body fall back. He caught her before sitting on the ground, pulling her with him. He lay her head on his stomach as he lay back, sleep consuming him the way it had consumed her.

~*~

"Any survivors," Dick Grayson asked, scanning the wreckage of the destroyed laboratory.

It had been a peaceful night at the Titans Tower. Dick was in the control room, watching the scanners for any action. He heard police scanners light up with word of an explosion. He watched the satellite footage, growing confused at the bright, gold light that cracked through the building before it exploded. He could see two people standing in the center of the rubble before their bodies crumbled to the ground.

"None that I can see," Gar answered into the comms. "How could something like his happen?" Dick knew how something like this could happen. 

Before coming to the scene of the explosion, Dick quickly looked into the lab. The lab wasn't experimenting on new technology or cures for cancer the way most science labs do. This science lab was experimenting on children. Two children from the age of 3 had been the prime subjects for their experiments. Dick watched multiple videos of the scientists cutting the two open, injecting them with whatever serum they created. He had no doubt in his mind it was the two kids who did this. 

"Over here," Jason called out, kneeling over the unconscious 'twins.' He held his fingers against their necks, looking for a pulse. "They're alive." Dick rushed over to Jason and knelt down next to the unconscious 'twins.' Dry blood stained their lips and under their noses. They were pale and their pulse was weak.

"Help me pick them up." Dick lifted the girl up, motioning for Gar or Jason to grab the boy. 

"Are they okay," Rachel asked in worry, looking at the girl in Dick's arms.

"We'll take them to the tower," Dick said, gently placing the girl into the back of the van. Jason dropped the boy next to her and ignored the unimpressed look Dick shot him. 

"They did this, didn't they," Rachel asked once the van started driving away from the destruction. Dick glanced at her before looking back to the road.

"They did," Dick answered lowly. "They had a reason." Rachel looked back at them and nodded. Gar and Jason sat on opposite sides of the van, staring down at the unconscious 'twins' laying on the cold floor of the van.

~*~

Steady beeping rang through Aurora's ear as her eyes slowly opened. The light above her was blue, not burning her eyes the way the bright, white florescence in the medical wing did. She turned, eyes frantically searching the room around her. 

The room was bare. Cole lay in a bed next to her, eyes still closed. IV's were sticking out of their arms, from the vein in the crook of their elbow. The blue light was more calming than the harsh white light she was used to. Monitors stood next to their beds, beeping rhythmically as her heart beat. She could hear the beeping increase rapidly as she panted in worry. She pushed herself up, ignoring the pain radiating through her body, and moved her hand, carelessly ripping the IV from her arm. She ignored the blood dripping from the small puncture in her arm and frantically tore the sensors connecting her to the heart monitor off of her body. She pushed off the bed, her vision spun as her feet hit the ground. She moved forward, balancing herself with a hand on the hospital bed. She moved forward, her hand smacking onto the rail of the hospital bed. She stared down at Cole in worry. She could faintly hear the erratic beeping of the heart monitor as she leaned against the rail of the bed. She looked up at the entrance of the room as heavy footsteps stopped. A man with short, brown hair stood in the entrance, eyeing her wearily.

"Where are we," Aurora grumbled out. The man held a hand up, resembling someone who were calming a wild animal.

"You're safe," he said calmly. "But you need to get back on the bed." Aurora glared at him.

"Where are we," she asked again.

"We heard about the lab explosion and when we got there, you two were the only survivors," the man spoke. "You're in the Titans Tower. We can help you." Aurora glanced around the room, looking out the window before turning back to the man.

"Who are you," she asked, voice less defensive. Aurora had heard the scientists talking about the Titans one time when they assumed she was still sleeping. She vaguely remembered hearing one scientist mention a potential experiment on Robin. The experiment never happened, but aside from Cole and Aurora, it was their most desired experiment. They had a radio once. They listened to the news talking about the four Titans; Robin, Dove, Wonder Girl, and Hawk. Aurora had secretly hoped they would save her.

"My name's Dick Grayson," 'Dick' introduced.

"You're a Titan," she asked through a tired grunt. 

"Get back on the bed and I'll explain everything." Aurora nodded, pushing herself away from Cole's bed. She used the rail to help herself onto her bed. She sat at the edge and stared at Dick as he walked over to her. He grabbed a piece of cotton and gauze. 

"I know what you two did," Dick said, busying himself with pressing the cotton against the small puncture where her IV was before wrapping the gauze around it. 

"The explosion," Aurora asked. Dick only nodded. He moved away from her, standing in front of her with his arms crossed. "How did you hear it?"

"Some police scanners were talking about an explosion at a lab. I looked into it and saw you two standing in the middle of it." Aurora bit the inside of her cheek and looked down.

"Are you gonna hand us to the police?" Dick stared down at her before shaking his head.

"I was gonna ask if you two would want to stay here," he sighed. "You'll be safe, protected. We won't...you won't experience anything like that again." Aurora's eyes drifted past Dick's body and stared at Cole's unconscious body.

"You know what happened to us," she asked quietly. 

"I watched the tapes-well, the ones I could get to," Dick answered. "There's three other kids here, all around your age. They'll help you feel welcome. And you won't have to mention your time in the lab."

"I'll talk to him when he wakes up, but I'll stay." 

"You two have names?" Aurora looked away from Cole and nodded.

"I'm Aurora," she pointed to Cole. "That's Cole."

"Last name?" She shook her head slowly. 

"The guy in charge only gave us a first name. He thought it was better than dehumanizing us and calling up 'Subject 1 and 2' all the time. Some of our files did say 'Doe,' though." Dick pursed his lips and nodded. 

'Jane Doe' and 'John Doe' are names given to unknown female and male bodies when they're found by police. Word play made for the twins to give them as much humanity as the head scientist was willing to give them.

"Aurora and Cole Doe. Those names sound okay for you?" Aurora nodded. "I have one more question, and you don't have to answer it."

"What is it?" She had a small feeling in her stomach that she knew what his question would be. She assumed he was going to ask something about the people who died in order for them to escape. She was hoping he would understand that her and Cole did what was necessary for them to make it out alive. Although, she had thought they wouldn't recover from how much power the used.

"Are you two actually twins?" She stared at Cole's sleeping face. 

She knew they weren't twins by blood, but she considered him her twin. He considered her his twin. She cared for him and loved him the way any sibling would care for and love another sibling, at least she hoped normal siblings cared for each other they way they did. 

Dick didn't need to know they weren't actual twins, although Aurora knew he could tell they weren't. Cole was the first person Aurora remembers knowing. He was the first person to show genuine care for her. She remembered the first time he was separated from her because he attacked a scientist for hurting her.

"Yes," Aurora answered after a moment of silence. She could see the slight softening of Dick's expression. She knew he knew they weren't twins, but she could tell he wouldn't correct her. "We are."

Dick left the infirmary/hospital area after their short conversation. He brought her a small bowl of soup with water and a small book for her to pass time. The book was nothing interesting, a long, extensive martial arts history book, but she was grateful. The soup was good and the dull headache she had passed. She could get used to living like this, experiencing good and fulfilling food, if she could convince Cole to stay. As if on cue Cole's eyes slowly blinked open.

"Don't push yourself," Aurora demanded softly, putting a hand on his shoulder