Change of Plans

Chapter 5

Jason's head was spinning. Or maybe the world was, he wasn't sure. Everything was muffled, his hearing, tasting, touching, vision... no, he couldn't see, everything was black. Or white? Maybe both.
He felt like he was floating on clouds, his senses separated from his brain by a veil of unconsciousness.

Something was rumbling beneath him, stirring his mind, making it hard to concentrate.
A soft groan escaped his lips, though he wasn't sure why. Or where he was... what had happened. He wasn't sure of anything anymore.
He heard a horn blare in the distance.
Then the gentle darkness claimed him again.

The next time he woke up, the fuzziness had left his mind, though his head still rang and blood was rushing through his ears.
He gasped awake, coughing to get air into his lungs.
His hands were strung up above his head and Jason had to stand on his toes to stay upright by his own account, the pressure on his lungs making it hard to suck in gasping breaths.
For a moment he was confused as to where he was and what had happened, but the aching of his body reminded him of his fight with Doctor Light and Deathstroke.

From behind, footsteps approached and Jason heard the screeching sound of something metallic being pulled over stone ground.
Looking around, as much as his bonds would allow, Jason realised that he was still in the tunnels, an old maintenance room probably.

For a brief second, Jason wondered who of his two kidnappers had come, but then he heard the unmistakable sound of Dr. Light absorbing a lamps energy and he released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding.
Laughing, Jason twisted his head around, trying to get a look at the man. "Ah, Doctor Light. Did you come up with that shit by yourself or did your parents saddle you with that bullshit?"
A cocky smirk tugged at his lips. "I mean, come on, what a lame fucking name."
"Shut it!"

"What, is my talking annoying you, dickweed?" He laughed again, his bruised ribs stinging. "'Cause that's the thing, I can do it all night, all day."
He waited until Doctor Light came into view, angry snarl on his face.
"And if you're nice," continued Jason, giving Dr. Light a shit-eating grin, "twice on a Sunday."
"I said shut the fuck up!"

Jerking his foot upright, Jason kicked him in the stomach, grimacing as more pressure was put on his arms. Before Doctor Light could recover, Jason slammed his boot into the man's face and as he stumbled, back turned to Jason, the young hero swung his legs around Dr. Light's neck, grunting and squeezing while the other tried to get out of the death-grip.
After a few minutes of struggling, Doctor Light went limp and Jason dropped him to the ground,

"Night, night, asshole."
Now the painful part. Taking a deep breath, Jason took ahold of his thumbs, giving a sharp tug. They dislocated with a crack and Jason grimaced, pulling his hands out of the leather bonds.
After putting his thumbs back in place, he started running, going for the stairs.
If he managed to get out, maybe he could catch Gar before he told Dick about what had happened.
If the older hero heard about Jason's failure, he was sure gonna report it to Batman and Jason would be banned from Gotham for even longer. He missed his home.

His escape was foiled as he came face to face- more like face to sword tip- with Deathstroke the Terminator.
Jason gulped, his heart skipping a beat.
Usually, Jason was good at reading people, a skill he had learned in his childhood. It was a valuable skill if you want to survive in Crime Alley. You should always know who to pick-pocket and who not to.
But now, staring in Deathsroke's one visible eye, Jason couldn't assess whether he was annoyed or amused by his escape attempt. Both would end badly for him.

"Leaving so soon?" The mercenary asked and Jason took a subconscious step back, looking for an escape route, but Deathsroke blocked the only way out.
"You really have to work on your hospitality, you know."
In response, Deathstroke crashed the hilt of his sword against Jason's temple.
Bad guy without a sense of humour. Figures.
Jason groaned in pain as he crumbled to the floor, hands flying to his head and blood gushing out between his fingers.