The Dog Stars' ship gently drifted through outer space as Krypto, Streaky, Brainy Barker, Tusky Husky, Paw Pooch and Mammoth Mutt all gathered around the dining table and waited patiently for their food. Hot Dog came out of the kitchen with a large bowl of macaroni and cheese in his short, stubby paws and a white chef's hat upon his head. Slowly and carefully, he approached the table and set the bowl directly in the center, "All right, everyone. Dinner is served. And Paw Pooch, there isn't enough for thirds so don't even think about begging for more."
Hot Dog took a large scoop off of the table and started dividing it among the macaroni evenly into smaller bowls. Krypto turned to Tusky Husky who was sitting next to him, "Hot Dog always makes me best mac and cheese, doesn't he?"
"He sure does, eh?" Tusky Husky nodded in agreement, "Zere is no way I can compete with something so delicious."
Streaky peered down at his bowl with a look of disappointment, "Mac and cheese? That's it? I was kinda hoping for some tuna salad. I'm on a diet, you know. This stuff's gonna clog my arteries, I just know it."
Hot Dog's eye twitched as he slowly turned his head and glared at the orange cat. Krypto and all the other Dog Stars turned and stared at Streaky in horror. They all knew Hot Dog's temper was at its very worst when his cooking was insulted. The red wiener dog slowly approached Streaky and poked his long snout against the cat's face, "So...my cooking's not good enough for you?"
Streaky let out a nervous chuckle as Hot Dog's smoky breath washed over his face, "To be honest, I'm on a diet, so-"
Before the cat could let out another word, Hot Dog grabbed his bowl, picked it up and chucked it clear against a wall. It shattered to pieces and Streaky watched as a mess of macaroni slid down the wall.
"Lick it off the wall."
"I beg your pardon?" Streaky stammered nervously, his heart beginning to race in his chest.
"LICK IT OFF THE WALL!" Hot Dog screamed angrily, grabbing the cat's wrist with his paw while glaring directly at him, "LICK IT, OR I"M GONNA BURN YOU TO A CRISP, DIET BOY!" Tears slowly formed in Streaky's eyes as he could feel a wave of angry, intense heat come off of Hot Dog and burn his wrist.
"Hot Dog, that's enough!" Brainy Barker sternly ordered. Slowly, Hot Dog let go of Streaky and stared at him with a look of intense anger.
"Hot Dog, I think you owe Streaky here an apology." Krypto said, still in shock over the fiery dog's outburst.
"I don't think so!" Hot Dog spat in irritation, "I slaved over a hot stove to make that macaroni just right and he has the nerve to insult my work. Forget it, I don't owe him anything!"
"Hot Dog!" Brainy gasped in shock, "I'm surprised at you."
"Yeah." Mammoth Mutt chimed in, "Why do you always have to be such a big bully?"
"Bully? BULLY? I'll show you bully!" Hot Dog stood up on the dining table and blasted a spray of fire out of his mouth in Mammoth Mutt's direction. Instantly, Tusky Husky leapt onto the table and shielded Mammoth Mutt from the flames with his tooth.
"Take it easy, mon amie. Maybe you should just cool off, eh?" Tusky replied, pointing in the direction of Hot Dog's room.
"Tusky Husky's right." Krypto nodded in agreement, "Maybe it would be best for you to take a time out."
"Fine." Hot Dog snorted, "I'll go take a time out. Being alone is so much better than being with so-called friends who insult me and treat my cooking like a joke. Just don't expect me to go on the next few missions cause I'm not."
And with that, the fiery dachshund got up and slithered away from the table in the direction of his room. Mammoth Mutt turned to Streaky, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Streaky replied, rubbing his wrist, "It's just a little burn, I've had worse happen to me."
"I'll go fetch the ointment." Krypto offered, "Even if it is just a little burn, it could still get infected. Better safe than sorry."
And with that, the super-dog zipped to the wall with super speed and came back with the first aid kit in his teeth. Mammoth Mutt turned to the cat, "But first, we should probably wash it out with soap and water. I'll take you to the bathroom."
"You're right, Mammoth Mutt." Krypto replied, "I'll keep the kit here for when he returns."
And with that, Mammoth Mutt led Streaky in the direction of the bathroom while Paw Pooch got up as well, "Looks like Hot Dog's gonna need one of my special hugs."
"Are you sure that's wise, Paw Pooch?" Brainy asked, raising an eyebrow, "After all, he is in one of his moods again and he may need some space."
"I'll be fine." Paw Pooch smiled, "I just gotta hug it out with him, he'll understand." The multi-legged dog scuttled off in the direction of Hot Dog's room.
Tusky Husky turned to face Brainy Barker, "If you don't mind me asking, why is Hot Dog always how you say, so angry all the time?"
Brainy Barker hung her head with a sigh, "Just yesterday, Hot Dog's father passed away. The two of us talked in private for a bit and I told him that I was sorry for his loss, even if his father abused him. He didn't show a whole lot of emotion."
"Abused?" Krypto blinked in shock, "So, you're telling me that Hot Dog had a rough childhood?"
"Indeed." Brainy sighed as her ears spread apart and a psychic image appeared above her head. In the image, a little red dachshund puppy was shaking his mother's lifeless body and crying helplessly. A large, red wiener dog grabbed little Hot Dog by his collar, choking him. Krypto found himself blinking back the sting of tears as he watched the father berate his son for crying and telling him that the tears would make him weak and extinguish his fire. Hot Dog's father then proceeded to viciously beat him and the sound of every smack made the superdog cringe.
Tusky Husky felt a few warm, salty tears run down his snout and drip off his nose as he stared at the floor to avert his eyes from the violent scene, "Zat is so sad, eh?"
Krypto placed a comforting paw on the tearful husky's shoulder and rubbed it to console him, "Sick is more like it. No wonder Hot Dog acts the way he does."
"I know this may be a bitter pill to swallow but before Hot Dog was part of our patrol, he was once a ruthless space pirate." Brainy stated, conjuring up an image of the dachshund during his criminal days.
"Space pirate?!" Krypto and Tusky gasped out simultaneously.
"Indeed. He was a wanted dog until I cut a deal with him. As long as he joined my patrol, I wouldn't lock him up in space prison." Brainy explained, "Apparently, he ran away from his abusive father and joined a band of dangerous space pirates."
"Does anyone else know about zis?" Tusky Husky asked his psychic leader as the screen glitched back the the scene of Hot Dog being hit by his father.
"Only Paw Pooch." Brainy replied, "At first, Hot Dog acted pretty mean towards him but after a while, he learned to put up with him. I was the creator of the patrol. Paw Pooch was the first to sign up, then I cut the deal with Hot Dog, then Mammoth Mutt joined, later came Tusky Husky and finally, Bull Dog and Tail Terrier joined at the same time."
"Where are Bull Dog and Tail Terrier, anyway?" Krypto asked, observing their absence.
"They're in their bedroom, fast asleep." Brainy said, "They went out and ate at a space buffet together since today's Bull Dog's birthday. By the time they got back, they were too full to eat Hot Dog's cooking and went straight to bed."
Mammoth Mutt and Streaky re-entered the room and instantly, their attention turned towards Brainy's psychic screen and the image of puppy Hot Dog sobbing helplessly over his mother's dead body. Instantly, Mammoth Mutt's blue eyes swelled up with tears, "Oh, dear..."
"Jeez, that's some pretty heavy stuff." Streaky remarked, wincing at the sight of Hot Dog getting smacked up by his abusive father.
Embarassed, Brainy Barker shut the screen off and sighed. Mammoth Mutt walked up to Krypto, "Was...that Hot Dog?"
"I'm afraid so." Krypto sighed, a single tear trickling down his muzzle as he hung his head, "Let's just say that Hot Dog never had the happiest puppyhood."
"That would explain why he burned me like that." Streaky observed, "The abused becomes the abuser. It's a sad thing, being a vicious cycle and all."
Krypto opened the first aid kit and pulled out some ointment and gauze for the cat's burn wound, "Hold on, Streaky. This may sting a little." The superdog dabbed the ointment on Streaky's burn wound and started winding gauze around his wrist. Streaky squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a shaky breath from the sharp, stinging pain, "There, that way it won't get infected."
The supercat forced a chuckle as a tear of pain rolled slowly down his face, "Either way, I bet my pain is nothing compared to Hot Dog's pain."
"I just hope Paw Pooch knows what he's doing, eh?" Tusky frowned skeptically with a worried look on his face.
Meanwhile, Paw Pooch had made it to Hot Dog's room and noticed the door was opened just a tiny crack. He heard what could only be described as sobbing on the other end. The multi-armed dog opened the door to Hot Dog's room and saw a sight that shocked him beyond his wildest dreams. Hot Dog had tracks of scalding hot tears rolling down his muzzle and dripping like a leaking tap from his long, pointed nose. Paw Pooch watched as puffs of steam rose up every time one of Hot Dog's tears hit the floor. He had never seen Hot Dog cry before, not even once. In fact, none of the other Dog Stars ever saw Hot Dog cry before at all. It was almost surreal and oddly, it shook him to his core.
Throwing caution to the wind, Paw Pooch crept up towards the weeping dachshund and slowly wrapped his multiple arms around him, pulling him into a close hug. "P...Paw Pooch?" Hot Dog sniffed softly as the basset nuzzled him and proceeded to massage his back with a paw to console him. Although Hot Dog would never admit to it, he actually liked Paw Pooch's multi-arm hugs and back rubs when he was upset.
"Yeah...I'm here." Paw Pooch replied softly, hugging the fiery canine in a close embrace, "Are you feeling okay?"
"No..." Hot Dog sadly hung his head, "Just lost my dad yesterday...I've been a little extra cranky since."
"Gee, Hot Dog, I'm so sorry, I-"
"Don't be." Hot Dog sniffled, dragging his stubby paw across his tear-streaked snout, "He kinda deserved it but...I dunno. I have so many thoughts in my head, I just don't know what to think anymore."
"What was your father like?" Paw Pooch asked, continuing to pet the distraught dachshund.
"Abusive. Treated me like garbage." Hot Dog choked out, still recovering from his recent crying session, "When I was just a pup, I wanted to follow in my mom's footsteps and be a chef while my dad wanted me to be a welder. He kept calling me a sissy and a weakling because of this. One day, my mom grew really sick and little by little, her fire grew weaker and weaker until one day, her fire powers just went away and she...died...I just couldn't stop crying about it so my dad just hit me over and over, telling me that my tears would weaken my power and that I'd die too if I kept crying. So from then on, I promised myself that I'd never cry again and only express anger and joy to keep my fire going strong."
"Hot Dog..." Paw Pooch felt his own tears welling up at this point.
"So then why am I crying now?" Hot Dog choked out, a new batch of tears streaming down his face, "I...I hated that guy, I..."
Without another word, Hot Dog allowed himself to cry on Paw Pooch's shoulder. Paw Pooch winced as he felt Hot Dog's boiling hot tears scald his fur but otherwise tightened his hug around the sobbing dachshund. Tears ran freely down his own face only to evaporate from his friend's heat as he cuddled and petted Hot Dog. It took almost half an hour for the red dog to stop crying and break away from the warm embrace, "This meeting between us, Paw Pooch?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's keep it our little secret, okay?" Hot Dog replied sadly, "No one needs to know that I cried, all right?"
"If you say so, Hot Dog." Paw Pooch replied, wiping a few tears from his own eyes.
And with that, the two exited Hot Dog's room and headed out to the main area where Krypto, Brainy Barker, Tusky Husky, Streaky and Mammoth Mutt were all gathered around the table. Instantly, Tusky Husky got up from his seat and bounded up to Hot Dog, tackling him in a big, warm hug, "Zey told me everyting!"
"What?" Hot Dog blinked in confusion.
Tears streamed like rivers down Tusky's muzzle and tooth as he squeezed Hot Dog in a tight hug, "I am so zorry for everyting you've been tru, mon amie. No one deserves zat, not even Mechanikat."
Hot Dog awkwardly wiggled his way out of the husky's fluffy embrace, "Um, Brainy, I thought you said all Dog Star files were confidential."
Brainy slowly shook her head, "The others were awfully curious about why you were so upset all the time, so I thought it would be best to tell them."
Streaky slowly and carefully approached Hot Dog, "Hey Hot Dog, sorry about insulting your cooking. I guess I kinda deserved that little burn you gave me."
"No, you didn't." Hot Dog sighed, "I'm the one who should be sorry for lashing out at you like that. If I known you were on a diet, I would've made a tuna salad just for you."
"I should apologize, too." Mammoth Mutt got up and walked over to Hot Dog, "I wouldn't have called you a bully if I known you had to live through so many horrors."
"It looks like we've all learned a thing or two about you, Hot Dog." Krypto stated before taking a bit of his lukewarm mac and cheese.
Hot Dog crossed his arms and glared at Krypto, "Why are you eating that now? It's gotta be colder than Antarctica! Here, allow me to reheat the food." The dachshund went up to the table and gathered all the bowls in front of him, putting his paws around each bow and instantly, they were brought back to their piping hot temperature, "There, now my food is ready to eat. All right everyone, dig in!"
And with that, Krypto, Streaky and the Dog Stars, sans Bull Dog and Tail Terrier feasted upon the delicious macaroni and cheese. Hot Dog happily watched as they enjoyed his meal, a warm tear of joy slipping down his cheek as he quietly spoke to himself, "This is my home and this is my family...my big, messed-up superhero family. And I love them. Every last one of them."
"Hey Hot Dog, who are you talking to?" Paw Pooch asked out of curiosity.
"Just monologing." Hot Dog replied, wiping the tear away with his paw, "Carry on with your eating, Paw Pooch."
The end.