Tittle: To Control the Burning Flames

Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock. If I did, the show would be VERY different.

Warning: BOY LOVE/YAOI. don't like, don't read. I mean it.

Hotstreak walked through the park on a cool misty morning. All of a sudden, trees started bursting into flames around him. Confused, Hotstreak armed himself, thinking a bang baby was after him; however this only caused the flames to grow higher and hotter.

"What the fu-"

"Should have known it was you." Hotstreak spun around to see Gear hovering in the air, but without his sparky partner.

"I'm not starting this I swear! I was walking peacefully when everything just started bursting into flames!"

"Right, and I'm a pretty princess. I don't believe you for one bit." Gear reached to his belt to grab a water capsule.

"No I'm being serious! I feel like something is wrong. I feel like I don't have any control over my powers right now. I just had a fight with Ebon; do you really think I would be running around burning trees after a fight with him?"

"No control?"

"Yeah, when I was battling with Ebon, my fire was spreading faster and was hotter than ever. I just thought it might have been some power flux but now I'm not so sure."

"Ifyou're telling the truth, I have something that might work. BackPack, if you please." BackPack extended a claw like thing holding a band of metal that looks like a bracelet and tossed it to Hotstreak, "Put this on, it should suppress your powers."

Hotstreak looked at Gear reluctantly but snapped the bracelet on any way. The bracelet started beeping and the fires started to die around them. However, the bracelet started to turn red and glow.

"Damn! The metal isn't heat resistant enough. I'll have to make a new one." Numbers and figures started to scroll down Gear's visor, as if he is looking for something but Hotstreak had no idea what could be written on the visor.

"Hey, where's sparky? He's usually the first to respond."

Without shutting down the stream of letters on his visor, Gear replied, "He's…preoccupied today…" sexin' up Daisy"I got the right metal. Stay out of trouble and keep your temperature down or the bracelet will melt right off."

"Fine, princess,whatever you say."

"Hey! I'm NOT a princess."

"You said you were when you didn't believe me earlier."

Gear gave him a look that probably was meant to be a glare and flew off mumbling, "Overly observant asshole…"

Hotstreak watched Gear fly off and smirked at the final comment. Deciding to actually listen to Gear, Hotstreak walked through the rest of the park to a densely shaded area and sat down beneath a rather large tree. He started examining the bracelet on his wrist, thinking to himself that, even though he hated the idea of not having his powers, he LOVED the feeling of being in control. It kept him sane.

"You actually took my advice?" Foley? Hotstreak thought and looked up, but instead found Gear, with a metal band in his gloveless hand, noticing said gloves tucked into his belt. Hm. Must be a coincidence.Hotstreak reached to take off the glowing band, but Gear grabbed his wrist before he could.

"DON'T! You'll lose control again and set this whole park on fire. You have to wait until I get the new band on you." Hotstreak wasn't really listening, since he was more focused on the feel of the pale hand resting on his wrist and the familiar sound of Gear's voice. A snap brought him from his thoughts. Gear had snapped on the new bracelet. "I made this one so that you can still use your powers, in case someone gets whiff that you are temporarily powerless. However, it doesn't let enough power through to cause any havoc or chaos."

Hotstreak smirked. Using this moment to your own advantage I see.

"Now, to take this one off." Time slowed a little as Gear wrapped his hand around the glowing band. "OWWW! SHIT!" Gear pulled his hand away quickly while clutching his wrist so he doesn't try to grab his burning hand. "BackPack!" The machine clicked to life and sprayed some pale blue foam looking stuff onto Gear's hand, which immediately sizzled, but died down after a few seconds.

"You should take it off. I'd rather not lose any skin." Although the hero didn't show it, Hotstreak could hear the pain in Gear's words.

With that command, Hotstreak tried to get it off but to no avail. "How do you undo this thing?"

"Ugh, it's soooooooo easy. You just turn the small dial 95 degrees counterclockwise, push the dial 3 times and then pull apart the connecting ends." Hotstreak just stared at Gear with a 'wtf' look on his face.

"That's not easy, it's an insult to my intelligence. And from a stupid bracelet no less." Hotstreak took 3 tries before he finally got it open.

"Well, I'd say it's payback for the princess comment"

Hotstreak dropped the bracelet on the ground, it singed the earth within a foot radius of the band. "Damn, that's a LOT hotter than it looked…and felt. No wonder your hand is all crispy….speaking of which, is your hand alright?"

Gear looked a little shocked at the question. "Ye-yeah, it will be. It will be fun trying to explain this to Static though."

"Don't you find it ironic that you don't get hurt when we are fighting but when you try to help me, you scorch your hand?"

Gear smiled, "yeah, it is kinda funny."

An awkward silence fell between them, so Hotstreak started examining the burnt earth from the

bracelet and Gear kept examining his hand. The silence was broken when the Shock-Vox crackled to life.

"Hey Gear! Ebon is starting trouble at the docks with Shiv and Talon. I need you to back me up!"

Gear grabbed the walkie and responded, "BackPack hasn't gone off yet thou-" *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* "I stand corrected. I'm on my way Static." With that, Gear sped off to help his friend at the docks.

Happy for the Distraction, Hotstreak leant against the tree and thought about what just happened. Why did he help me, more like, why did he let me go? He could have arrested me on the spot but he didn't and he let me still use my powers. WTF? And now that I paid attention to his voice, he does sound like Foley. But it couldn't be, I mean, Foley wasn't at the Big Bang. Foley can't be that much of a brainiac naturally, he builds stuff that the world's top scientists can't even build. Jeeze, I have to stop thinking, it feels like my brain might explode. With that, Hotstreak got up and started to wander around town, then back to his rundown apartment since he is still exhausted from his fight with Ebon.