Change of Plans

Chapter 4

After watching episode 7 (which is defenitifly my fav episode so far), I realize that I can't not put aspects from post e5 episodes into this story. So I guess this is not just e5 AU, but a whole s2 AU.
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The old Titans stood around Dick, who still sat on the chair, head in his hands.
His mind was running a million miles an hour, thoughts circling around Jason and Doctor Light. He knew that, the second he'd stop searching and take even a moment to rest, his mind would be overrun with guild.
He was supposed to protect him...

"Why did they go after Doctor Light by themselves in the first place?" Asked Donna, annoyance and worry lacing her words.
"Jason is reckless, not stupid."
Dick sighed, rubbing his palms across his eyes.
"I don't know. He's been complaining about being left out."
Hank snort. "Don't blame yourself, the shit-stirrer did that on his own."
But I was supposed to protect him.

Dawn rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics and pointed at the screen that showed the train tunnels.
"It must be 20 to 30 miles of tunnels down there."
"Maybe more," butted Donna in, her eyes wide in worry.
They all feared what Deathstroke would do to Jason, knowing first hand what the mercenary was capable of.

"We can't cover that much ground in one night," growled Hank, arms crossed as he paced behind the others, the echo of his footsteps giving Dick a headache.
"Which is why I've redirected the satellites to the area to sweep for Jason's tracker. Hopefully we can pinpoint his exact location from there."
He turned in his chair to look at the others.
"Rachel and Gar will monitor it from here."
He had to stop himself from snapping at Hank when he said, "Boy fucking Wonder strikes again."
This wasn't Jason's fault.

"Well," asked Donna, raising her eyebrows, "what are we waiting for? Let's go."
On his way out, Dawn grabbed Dick's arm. "This isn't your fault, Dick," she whispered. Dick didn't answer and she let him go with a heavy sigh. "Just... don't let the guilt cloud your judgment."
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The tunnels were clammy and gross, water dripping down the metal walls.
They had split up and Dick was holding a flashlight in one hand, a tracking device in the other.
"Keep your heads on a swivel guys, Doctor Light could still be down here."
Through the com-link, Donna's voice was slightly distorted, "Dick, there's no sign of Jason's tracker on the third floor.
Hank, did you find anything?"
"Do rats the size of my hand count?"

Dick rolled his eyes.
Yes, Jason could be a brat, but he was in danger because of their history with Deathstroke, Hank could at least try to act like he cared.

"Stay positive," scolded Dawn.
Dick swept his flashlight from side to side, looking for a clue... anything that would help them find their missing teammate.
He heard Hank scoff. "I got dragged out of bed to trudge through sewer water, because dip-shit decided to go half-cocked."
Donna seemed to agree with Dick's way of thinking, saying, "at least Jason found Doctor Light. Maybe he would have told us if we had given him half the change yesterday."

Dick tried to ignore the flash of guilt, concentrating on finding anything that looked even slightly suspicious.
The light cone halted as he saw that the wall had been cracked. It looked like one of Dr. Light's light beams had missed.
"Guys, I got something. Sending over the coordinates now."

When the others arrived, Dick had already looked around, assessing the situation.
"Jesus," breathed Dawn, her eyes flickering from the cracks in the wall to the blood on the ground.
"This is fucked," agreed Hank, shaking his head as if he couldn't quite believe what he saw.

Dick pointed at the floor. "He was attacked here. Then dragged," he explained, moving his flashlight to show where the blood lead. "Tracks disappear a hundred yards down."
"He could be anywhere by now," mused Dawn, lips pressed together.
"If he's still alive."

Dick shot Donna a dirty look. "He is alive. Doctor Light is using him as bait to lure us out. If he was dead, he would have left him here."
"How does that make it any better?" She asked and Dick shook his head. "Not saying it does."
Hank raised his hands. "Back up," he said, walking closer to the ex-Robin. "So the kid is bait to you now, is that right? That's rich, Dick."

Scoffing, Dick met his eyes. "You were bagging on him a minute ago and now he's your best friend?"
"Not about me, pal. This is all because of you and your big dump fucking idea to put the Titans back together!" He was now mere inches from Dick's face and none of them were ready to back down.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "I'm out."
"Yep, me too," muttered Donna.
The girls turned around, catching Dick's and Hank's attention. "What? Were are you going?"
Looking at her boyfriend, Dawn said in a 'duh' tone, "To get Jason."
Donna nodded. "And for the record, this is all of our faults, every single on of us, so get over it and move on. Jason's out there and we're wasting time."

Growling, Hank threw his arms in the air. "We can't keep wandering these tunnels all night, looking for his tracking signal! We need a fucking plan."
Dick closed his eyes, taking a breath. Hank was right, they needed a plan. Going aimlessly through 30 miles of tunnel was not gonna bring any results.
Just as he was about to voice his ideas, something caught his eye.
A camera.

Frowning, he went closer, ignoring Donna's question as to what he found.
Dr. Light was watching them.
Watching them while he did God knows what to Jason.
With an enraged yell, he shattered the lens.

"Light's watching us," he growled, turning to look at his friends. "We need to find Jason, now. If Doctor Light listened this whole time, he knows we can track him."
"But where are we supposed to look? We are wandering around blind," shot Hank back and Dick sighed. "No idea, but we gotta find him. Asap."