Author's Note: I know, I know, I really should be working on the next chapter for my story "Faces to Call Home," but this plot bunny has been nagging me for quite some time now, I just had to go through with it. It will be relatively short, as are the chapters. Think of it as a fun mini-project before I get back down to business and set my priorities straight.
Disclaimer: As always, all rights go to Warner Bros, DC Comics, and Cartoon Network.
Chapter 1- And So It Begins
"Pancakes headin' your way!"
Herald grinned as he scooped up two pancakes with his spatula and prepared to fling them towards Jericho. His best friend was already a step ahead of him, arms stretched out in front of him as his hands clutched the end of his plate. In one fluid motion, Herald pitched the spatula forward, causing the pancakes to soar through the air. Jericho scrambled into action, taking several steps backwards so that his breakfast would successfully find it's way onto his plate.
An unknown force bumped into him from the nearby doorway, causing him to lose his balance and crash onto the floor. A distinct sizzle sound made it's way towards Herald's ears, causing him to glance from a disoriented Jericho to the pancake's target.
A powered up, fuming Hot Spot stood before them, blackened pancakes making their way down the side of his head. His right eye twitched in anger, hands balled up into fists at his sides. It took every ounce of self-constraint for Herald not to burst out laughing at the ordeal because c'mon, the encounter was downright hilarious. Out of the corner of his eye, Herald could tell that Jericho was having a hard time keeping his composure in-check as well.
"Oh, h-hey Hot Spot," Herald finally managed to get out in between stifled snickers. Jericho merely held up a hand in greeting, the other clutched firmly against his wavering mouth. Hot Spot let out a low grunt in response, his temper about ready to explode.
And then the pancakes landed on the ground with a reverberating SPLAT!
"Bwahahahaha!" Herald burst out laughing, clutching the side of the kitchen counter for support as his torso throbbed from the sounds he was emitting. Jericho lay sprawled out on the floor, a gaiety expression on his face as his body shook with mute laughs.
"Oi! What's going on around here?" A feminine voice interrupted, causing both Herald and Jericho to stop their antics and glance towards the new arrival.
Argent stood in front of the elevator, clad in a rock-n-roll t-shirt and striped pajama bottoms. Unlike Hot Spot, who was already dressed in his uniform, Argent seemed to want to stay in her current attire for as long as she possibly could before she was called into action.
Taking a step forward, she eyed the two boys curiously before diverting her attention to the pyrokinetic. Her crimson-colored eyes darted between him, the scorched pancakes, then back to him again. An amused grin stretched across her face.
"Enjoy gettin' a quick breakfast, Spotty?" Argent mused as she observed the burnt remains of pancakes by Hot Spot's feet.
"Don't call me that," Hot Spot irritably replied as the faint glow around his body intensified.
Sensing that trouble was bound to arise, Herald decided to speak up. "Just chill out, man." Out of the corner of his eye, Herald could see Jericho smacking his forehead as if it say, "You just had to use the term 'chill.'"
As if on cue, Hot Spot grumbled, "My powers are fire-based, genius."
"You could still power down," Argent spoke up. "Constantly emanatin' heat could be a safety hazard."
"You don't get to tell me when to power down." Hot Spot bitterly warned her as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, somebody needs to before you burn the bloody building down," Argent remarked, her usual carefree tone taking on an air of hostility.
Hot Spot scowled. "I didn't ask for this!" He threw his hands up in frustration. "I didn't ask to be on this stupid team with a crummy goth chick that questions my every move! I'd rather work alone!" For a brief moment, the fire behind Argent's eyes diminished, exposing hurt, anguished orbs.
Jericho took it upon himself to extinguish the flames that had been lit before they spread into an uncontrollable wildfire. As he stood up to intervene, he was met with the harsh glare of Hot Spot who ordered, "Stay out of this!"
His abrasive tone towards the mute seemed to snap Argent out of her funk. "Don't yell at him!" she retorted, a spark of anger crossing over her eyes.
"You're so freaking annoying!" Hot Spot exclaimed. He dug his thumb into his chest as he stated, "If you need me, I'll be getting breakfast at a place that doesn't smack you in the face as a greeting, or have annoying patronizers!" At that, the pyrokinetic stormed out of the room, leaving behind a trail of steam as he went.
As the elevator doors swished closed, the room was filled with a tense silence. Herald's countenance twisted into a frown.
"What a hard-boiled egg, that one is." Argent finally muttered, pushing a strand of her jet-black hair behind her ear.
"He didn't mean what he said," Herald stated in a low tone. "He just needs some time to loosen up." Jericho nodded his head in agreement.
The silver-skinned girl let out a puff of air, blowing her scarlet-dyed bangs upward. "Yeah, well," not knowing what else to say, Argent's gaze drifted to the floor. Jericho brought forward a plate of untampered pancakes, but Argent gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. "Don't bother. Seem t'ave lost my appetite anyhow." With that, Argent turned on her heel and made her way to the elevator.
"I'll be in my room if you 'gents need me," she announced as the doors slid shut.
Herald let out a sigh, meeting the compassionate eyes of his mute friend. Robin had instituted Titans North a month prior and established a homebase for the chosen team in a place called Pinnacle City. The tower they currently resided in resembled that of Titans West, the T-shaped edifice situated on a mountaintop overlooking the city. Thick vegetation and fresh pine trees expanded across the summit, giving the place an air of tranquility.
Herald was deeply troubled by the fact that he hadn't been able to stop his teammates' recent confrontation. Hot Spot and Argent were pugnacious individuals, both seeming to have it in for the other. The incident had been the third one this week, and Herald wasn't looking forward to having to do damage control yet again.
Maybe the trumpet player wasn't cut out for this whole "leadership" thing. After all, he hadn't jumped at the idea when Robin had first proposed it. Him? In charge of a team? This was Herald they were talking about - easygoing, laid-back Herald who took on life's struggles like a piece of jazz music; one resonant note at a time. How could the Boy Wonder possibly expect him to lead a group of vigilantes? When the musician had posed the question, Robin was quick to explain.
"I don't," Robin had said. "I expect you to lead a group of friends."
Yeah, and that was working out real nicely. The team couldn't have been farther apart. They barely knew one another and when they did speak there was only discourse; Argent was too rebellious, Hot Spot jumped to conclusions before allowing anyone to explain, Kole played peacemaker too often and ended up as the one who got hurt, and Jericho…
Jericho was without a doubt the most level-headed of them all. He was attentive and warmhearted, always ready to help out a friend in need. He was calm and collected, able to keep his emotions in check when the situation called for it. He was a courageous teammate, never failing expectations while on a mission.
The only piece missing from the puzzle was his voice.
Without it, Jericho couldn't directly speak up. As part of their daily training schedules, Herald had mandated a one-hour study session with the mute who acted as their educator in the art of sign language. He wanted everyone to be up to par with their communication skills, not wanting Jericho to feel left out as he had been many times before. The team had only been at it for three weeks, but already they showed signs of improvement.
Jericho waved his hand in front of Herald's face, an amused look in his eyes. The trumpet player shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. His best friend motioned toward his noggin as if to ask, "Whatcha thinking about?"
"The team, mostly," Herald admitted to him. "We're falling apart at the seams with nobody to stitch the pieces back up." The trumpet player lowered his gaze as he muttered to himself, "I don't think I'm cut out to lead a team."
Jericho stared at him, appearing dumbfounded by the comment. Are you crazy? He asked with experienced, nimble hands. You're the best suited person for this position. I couldn't think of anyone better to lead us.
"I'm pretty sure you're the one who's out of their mind," Herald corrected with a slight upturn of his mouth. "If I can't even stop a simple argument, how'm I supposed to support an entire team on a mission?"
You've done it before, Jericho pointed out.
"Please," Herald said with a wave of his hand. "I mean on an actual mission. Arresting a few creeps for distributing pornographic videos is hardly anything impressive." His friend began to raise his hands again in order to defend himself, to which Herald simply added, "And catching a bunch of yahoos who stole some alcohol from a gas station station doesn't count either." They had hardly done anything remarkable since they'd first arrived here, much less something that earned headline news and a gold medal. The police could've easily handled those cases; Titans North just happened to be in the vicinity at the time.
I guess we should be thankful for not having another Slade running amok. Jericho humorously signed, though a strange glint entered his eyes upon the statement.
Herald decided to ignore it, continuing on with his tirade. "That's beside the point. Say one day a Slade-wannabe does march through the city with an arsenal of weapons at his command. Say the guy has a hundred hostages and will kill them if anyone tries to stop him. What then?!" Herald shivered at the scenario he had just fabricated. "I couldn't handle that."
A sad look crossed over Jericho's features. Herald, you're my best friend. You always speak about me as someone who has great strength and determination. His eyes filled with compassion as he signed, I just wish you could view yourself in that same light.
Upon hearing those words, Herald was deeply touched by them. It was true; he didn't think highly of himself. But that was because he had so much to prove as a leader, and so much to lose as a friend.
He ruffled his younger friend's abundance of hair as he said, "Thanks, Jer. That means a lot coming from you." Jericho placed a reassuring hand on Herald's shoulder, his smile lighting the room like a luminous star.
The elevator doors glided open, revealing a somewhat distressed Kole. Immediately, the two boys exchanged a knowing glance and made their way over to her, wondering what her troubles were.
"Hey Kole," Herald started, "Is something up?"
"You could say that," Kole said as she let out a sigh. "I was walking past Argent in the hallway and she seemed really down. I tried to talk to her, but she told me to leave her alone. Did something happen?"
You could say that, Jericho signed as the two boys thought back to the earlier incident.
Kole cocked her head slightly as she watched Jericho's hands. "Umm, I'm sorry Jericho, but I didn't quite catch that."
"He said, 'you could say that,'" Herald explained as he glanced at his younger friend. His vibrant green eyes looked a bit upset at the comment. The trumpet player knew that Jericho disliked it when he had to play interpreter, but what could they really do at the moment? That was why Herald had mandated practice sessions with the mute; once everyone got better at sign language, Jericho would be able to carry out conversations with everyone in the tower.
"Oh…" Kole replied, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. That one was probably easy to figure out." Jericho waved a dismissive hand, his features lighting up once again.
"So, what did happen this morning?" Kole prompted.
"Hot Spot," Herald explained, and with that one name, Kole immediately understood.
"Was the argument a bad one?"
"A few choice words were exchanged," Herald said as he scratched the back of his neck. "But nothing too serious. They should be over it by noon."
Kole let out a sigh. "I just wish we could settle our differences with one another and-"
The blaring sound of the alarm interrupted their discussion as red lights blinked and flashed. The three teammates glanced around the room, a bit taken aback by the drill. The television screen flickered to life, displaying a map of the intricate city. Immediately, Herald dashed over to the display and flexed his fingers above the control panel, pressing on various buttons of the keyboard. His motions were sloppy and inexperienced, having only done this a few times before.
After a while, the map zoomed in on a certain quadrant of the city, displaying it's coordinates. "There," Herald pointed out with his index finger a small warehouse located on the edge of the municipality. He typed in a few other commands, causing files to pop up on various police cases.
"According to these files, a guy by the name of Jack Amerston has been heading illegal operations involving drugs - a new form of ecstasy the most common of them. The police have been on the gang's tail for months, but have yet to catch them." Herald's eyes widened as he took in a sharp breath.
"What? What is it?" Kole urged, concern prevalent on her countenance. Jericho nodded his head, wanting Herald to continue his analysis.
"They finally caught Amerston and his gang at this warehouse," Herald hesitantly started. "But… the police are heavily outnumbered. They're there right now and have requested backup."
Their speech was muted, the only sound coming from the blaring alarm system. The three of them stood, absorbed in their own thoughts. None of them knew where to go with this. They had never faced a threat like this before; as a team, they just weren't mentally or physically ready.
But there were also lives at stake here. The Pinnacle City Police Department needed them. They could be wounded - they could be dying right at this moment.
Herald gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing once as he pulled out his communicator. "Herald to Hot Spot," he uneasily started. "We've got a situation. I'm sending the coordinates your way. Meet the team there as fast as you can." Herald put the communicator back in his utility belt just as Argent entered the room. She had changed out of her pajamas and was now dressed in her uniform.
"Ya mind turnin' the bloody sirens off? They're givin' me a headache." Argent stated as she rubbed the temples of her forehead. Noticing the blank expressions on each of her teammates faces, she asked, "What's going on? The lot of you look like you've seen a ghost."
"We've got a situation on our hands. I'll explain on the way," Herald said as he blew into his gleaming silver trumpet, opening a portal that lead to the warehouse on the map.
"Finally! Some action around here," Argent enthusiastically stated as she pumped her fist into the air. As they began to pile into the space, Jericho took a look back at Herald. Concern was written all over his face.
"Don't worry," Herald said, forcing a grin onto his countenance. "This Amerston guy won't know what hit him once Titans North gets there." The corners of Jericho's mouth lifted ever so slightly as he gave Herald a thumb's up and entered the portal.
Herald's grin immediately diminished as he was the last one to enter the rift. Something told him that the fight they were about to engage in wouldn't be so simple.
Author's Note: As you can probably already tell, this won't be your average Teen Titans story. I've already mentioned pornography, stealing, and drugs. This is because I wanted to give this new team a bit more of a Young Justice feel to it - minus the mentors. It occurred to me that more often than not, when the Titans weren't fighting outrageous villains they were probably fighting everyday criminals. And it makes sense. They might be kids, but that doesn't make them any less exposed to the horrors of humanity than that of an adult superhero. While I love Teen Titans to death, I wanted to show a different side to the crime-fighting - a darker, more realistic side.
Of course, there will still be those lighthearted moments. After all, they're still teenagers.
So, like it? Hate it? Have any comments/criticism about the team I've assembled? Anything I can work on? Let me know in a review! And don't forget to follow and/or favorite.
See you all next time. Updates shouldn't take too long.