Jason is missing.
It's like a fucking nightmare come to life.
His tracker can't be found and even as Dick, Donna, Dawn and Hank search the tunnels in an attempt to find him, I feel an overwhelming sense of dread. Like something bad is going to happen.
I'm waiting at the elevator when the doors slide open. Gar, Rose and Rachel are sitting at the kitchen bench, sipping coffee.
"What happened? His tracker came back online. Did you find him?" Based on the forlorn expressions of the former Titans, I already know the answer to my question.
"His tracker was cut out and put into Dr. Light's body," Dick explains. Donna walks past us like a zombie, heading toward the training room. Her mind is clearly somewhere else.
"Wait, Dr. Light is dead? Then who the hell has Jason?" I demand. Dick's eyes flick over my shoulder to Gar, Rachel and Rose. He clearly doesn't want to say, at least not in front of them.
"Everything's going to be fine," he assures me and turns to walk away.
"That's it? That's all you're going to say? What about Jason?" I'm not going to let this go.
"I said it's going to be fine. Drop it," he warns me.
He also disappears into the training room, along with Hank and Dawn.
I pace over to the kitchen counter. "We've got to find him," I tell the others.
"It's bad. Whatever is happening. I can feel it," Rachel says, compounding my dread.
"I wish they wouldn't ice us out," I mutter, feeling the distance between Dick and I acutely. There's a moment of silence.
Then Gar speaks up. "I know a way we could listen in."
~O~
In the control room, Gar turns on the camera for the training room. But he hesitates to unmute it.
"Where's the sound?" Rose wonders.
"I-I actually don't know about this. It feels sketchy." Gar is not a naturally deceitful nor sneaky person. I can tell his moral compass is kicking in about spying on the former Titans.
I, however, have no such qualms. I hit the unmute button on the control panel and Donna's voice comes through.
"We barely survived his last attack," she says.
"Jason is hurt, alone and scared. We all know what that feels like. Bottom line is, he's one of us and she's not," Hank says emphatically. "So if we have to hand Rose over to her father to save Jason, then I think that's the right thing!"
I look at Rose sharply. "Your father wants you back."
She doesn't reply, doesn't move a muscle.
"She's just a kid," Dawn says on the screen.
"Deathstroke's kid," Donna corrects. There is pain in her voice.
"They're not going to do it. They're just upset," Rachel tries to reassure Rose.
"Maybe we should," I say and they all look at me.
Gar's eyes are wide "Will, you can't be serious!"
I turn to Rose. "Aren't you tired of running? If we take your father out, together, then you'll be free."
"You want to use me as bait?" She questions darkly.
I shrug. "Aren't you already bait? I mean one way or another, it's pretty obvious he's coming after you. We pretend to make the trade - you for Jason - and then we take your father out before he can actually hurt you."
"You don't know my father. You don't know what he's capable of," she presses.
"You don't know what Rachel is capable of. Or Gar. There's no way he can take on all of us, together."
But Rose backs away, shaking her head. "No. No, I can't. I won't go back to him."
"Just wait—" I reach out to grab her arm and she snaps. She delivers a hard kick to my stomach that sends me flying into the far wall. I crash to the ground, groaning in pain.
That fucking hurt.
"Rose, stop!" Rachel makes the same mistake I did and grabs Rose's wrist. But this time when Rose strikes out, Rachel ducks down. And when she looks back up, her eyes are glowing red. Darkness seeps out of her as her powers surge.
She is terrifying and glorious all at once, this powerful being wrapped up in a sweet girl. Her hand strikes out at Rose, who sails through the air and crashes into the corner of the control table. There is a sickening crack as Rose falls to the floor.
The darkness recedes into Rachel just as Dick, Donna, Hank and Dawn come running into the room. They must have heard the commotion.
"Oh my god," Rachel breathes out. Rose's head is bent at an awkward angle, blood seeping out of her temple. She looks…dead.
I stumble to my feet and hurry over to Rachel as everyone else stares down at Rose's unmoving body.
"It's ok, Rach. It wasn't your fault," I try to assure her, but she's already taking off down the hall. Gar hurries after her. "Shit." I push my hand through my hair.
"You were watching us." Dick is pissed, glaring straight at me.
"You shouldn't have kept us in the dark," I retort. "We deserve to know the truth."
"We're trying to protect you—"
"You think I don't want to protect Rachel and Gar? Of course I do. All I've done is try to protect Rachel! But lying is not protection. I've always known that."
He opens his mouth to argue back but there is an unsettling crunching noise. We all look down at Rose and see her neck slowly moving.
"She's alive," Dawn breathes.
Rose's body slowly rights itself, putting itself back together like a puzzle piece clicking into place. It's a disturbing sight to behold. But at least she isn't dead; it'll help soothe the guilt that Rachel no doubt feels.
Hank picks her up gently and carries her toward the medical room so she can heal, Dawn following close behind him. Donna mutters something about needing a drink and disappears down the hall.
Dick and I are left alone.
"We need to find Jason. Maybe trading Rose for him is the best way to do that."
"This isn't us. We don't trade lives," Dick says.
"So what's your plan then? Because Jason dying is not an acceptable outcome, you know that right?"
"You think I want him to die? That I want him to be in danger right now?" Dick steps closer, anger marring his features.
"That's not what I meant. I just…." I shake my head. "I just want to get him back. That's all. We owe him that."
"I know. I'm going to fix it—"
"Stop. I'm not asking you to do this all by yourself. You're the one that goes on and on about us being a team. So let's be a team and go and get Jason back." I reach out and grab his hand, holding it between mine. "Why are you and the others acting so weird about this Deathstroke guy?"
Dick blows out a breath, looking down at where my thumb rubs over his knuckles. He takes a few moments to answer me. "A few years ago, I came to San Francisco to get out of Batman's shadow. I opened up this place with Hank, Donna, Dawn and Garth. But that version of the tower didn't end so well. Garth died and…it nearly broke us all."
"Deathstroke killed him," I surmise and Dick nods.
"Being back here is difficult for them. Especially Donna. She was…close to Garth. They don't want me to make the same mistakes we did back then," he explains.
"Are you? Making the same mistakes?"
His hand slips out from mine and he rubs his face. He looks tired. "I don't know. I wanted you all to be better than we were but…Maybe reopening Titans tower was a mistake."
I swallow thickly. Where else would Rachel and I have gone? I haven't forgotten that Dick opened Titans tower to give us a safe place to live.
"Let's just focus on getting Jason back, ok? We can worry about everything else later."
He nods. "But we can't hand over Rose. It isn't the right thing to do."
"So what are going to do then?" I ask.
He takes a step forward and cups my cheek. I instinctually lean into his touch. His lips press against my forehead softly. "I'll take care of it," he murmurs into my skin.
"What does that mean?"
He steps away from me. "Just hold tight, ok? It'll be alright."
I watch him walk out of the control room, leaving me alone. After a moment, I head toward Rachel's room. Dawn and Gar are with her and she looks less upset than before.
"Can we have a minute?" I request. They both nod and leave us. I sit down on her bed beside her, resting my hand on her knee, clad in black fabric. "Dawn told you that Rose is alive?"
Rachel nods, her eyes downcast.
"It was my fault, not yours. I antagonised her and you had to step in. I'm sorry," I say but Rachel is already shaking her head in disagreement.
"This is on me. I could've killed her." Tears flood her eyes. "Will, what if…What if I'm just evil?"
"Evil?" I question incredulously. "That's ridiculous. Come on, Rachel."
"Is it so ridiculous? You saw who my father was. Maybe I'm more like him than I care to admit."
Her fears are ones I've shared myself. I often look in the mirror and see my mother smiling back at me.
"We aren't our parents. We can be better, if we choose to be. You already are better than him. He didn't have compassion or empathy, Rach. He just craved power. The fact that you feel guilty about hurting Rose proves you're better than him."
She wipes away the tears cresting her cheeks with shaky fingers. "Lately I don't feel like I'm in control of my powers. I feel like they're in control of me."
I don't know how to help her because I will never understand what she experiences grappling with her powers every day. All I can do is bring her into a tight hug and soothe her as best I can. We talk for a while longer and she tells me about the dreams she's been having and how she feels her control on her powers slipping.
The bedroom door suddenly bursts open. Donna stands in the doorway. "Have you seen Dick?"
Rachel and I stand up.
"No. Why?" I ask.
"He's gone."
My heart plummets. "What do you mean 'he's gone'?"
"We can't find him anywhere. He's not here."
I think about the way he touched my cheek and kissed my forehead. Dread fills me from head to toe. Was he saying goodbye and I just didn't realise it? "Shit…"
"What?" Rachel looks at me and I meet her gaze.
"I think he went to get Jason back."
She shakes her head. "What? How?"
I hesitate. "By sacrificing himself."
~O~