Teen Titans © DC Comics
77. Memories
Back then, Argent was the daughter of a filthy rich Italian man who dealt in manufacturing and arms dealing and a beautiful New Zealand model. Her oldest memory was of her seventh birthday with everything a child desired. A massive, five-layer cake, balloons, presents, and even amusement park rides, it was like a miniature carnival. She was Antonia "Toni" Louise Monetti with countless friends and her father's fat wallet that stretched on forever.
Her second oldest memory was of her mother leaving days after her birthday. She remembered crying and screaming, begging her dear "mum" to stay. Her father snatched her wrist and dragged her away from the door her mother exited through. Her mother's saddened face imprinted itself into her mind, a tissue to her face, trying to dry her tears. It was last time she would see her mother during her childhood.
Those were two prominent memories of her childhood. Argent recalled them more often than her other childhood memories. Currently, she was lying underneath an umbrella on a lounge chair. She watched Kid Flash shove Lightning into the pool she bought for the roof of Titans South with an ill smirk. Thunder snatched his brother's hair and heaved him out, but Lightning immediately tackled Kid Flash to the ground and strangled him. Argent shook her head, chortling to herself as Thunder desperately attempted to separate the two.
"Yo, Argent! Come over here and swim with us! We need a babe since Jinx locked herself in her room to draw her unicorns!" Kid Flash shouted, having removed his spandex for a pair of red swim trunks. "Remember, the sun is your friend!"
"I'm good over here, thank you very much," she curtly replied, snapping her "Gosh Fashion" magazine in front of her nose. Pausing, she peered over to Thunder, finding him in black trunks and called, "Hey, blue boy, you're looking good!"
The normally pale blue elemental turned a bright shade of red. Thunder sheepishly grinned, humbly thanking her. Lightning, now drenched and dressed in his normal armor, scoffed, rolling his eyes and stated she was a harlot. Not like that insult was new. The temperamental elemental had a profound dislike for her, finding her to be odd in manners of speech and attire. Argent felt the exact same when she met Lightning, but he was a good guy, just hedonistic and borderline "special."
Kid Flash suddenly darted over, snatching her wrists and pulled her to stand. "C'mon, Arg! Just a little dip?"
Dressed in a black bikini outfit, Argent rolled her dark, lava-colored eyes until she found Thunder starting at her with pink cheeks. Smirking, she shrugged and replied, "Well, one swim won't hurt."
Thunder slapped himself lightly in the face as she walked by, winking at him. Facing Kid Flash who dashed next to him, he asked, "Wallace, have you seen her chest?"
"Yup," Kid Flash commented. "They're big."
"Fools," Lightning grumbled, crossing his arms. "Temptation is dishonorable."
"Like you don't stare at Kole's," Kid Flash sneered.
"I most certainly do not!" Lightning screamed as Argent climbed up the stars to the diving board. "I do not gaze at Kole's chest!"
Thunder and Kid Flash looked at each other, then to Argent who overheard. The trio stared back and Lightning, stating in unison, "Uh, yes, you do."
Lightning snarled, transmuting his lower half into electricity and took to the skies, shouting, "Fine! I am going to the crystal witch's abode to tell her to stop flaunting! Goodbye!"
"…He's gonna get his butt kicked, isn't he?" Kid Flash questioned after Lightning darted off.
Thunder and Argent nodded. Argent grinned at the two boys of Titans South, more or less on the muscles on Thunder's body. Damn, he was fine! Stating how she felt in a flirtatious voice, she laughed as Thunder covered his muscular chest feebly by crossing his arms and turned away, blushing. Argent took a few experimental bounces on the board, not wanting to have a misstep and make herself look like an idiot in front of the boy with the biggest mouth in the universe, and she was not thinking of Thunder. Leaping, Argent swung her arms back, feet pounding gently against the board.
Suddenly, the diving board snapped in half. Her ruby gems dilated in horror, mouth ripping open in a silent scream. Before she could injure herself, Kid Flash darted across the water and caught her, safely bringing her over to a shocked Thunder. They immediately asked if she was all right, to which she nodded stupidly. Argent wobbled slightly as Kid Flash placed her on the ground, being steadied by Thunder.
"Who put in the diving board?" she asked in budding anger.
"Monetti Industries," Kid Flash recalled.
She stared at the speedster pensively, a grim frown tugging at her lips. Repeating the name wonderingly, Argent pinched her brow and threw out a plasma hand, retrieving the snapped board and flung it next to them. "Them, huh? Well, I didn't know the old man got outta jail."
"What old man?" Thunder asked, cocking his head in concern.
Argent sighed, crossing her arms. "Old Man Monetti, my dad. We've…lost touch after he kicked me outta the house for my skin."
"Whoa, you're Frederico Monetti's daughter?" Kid Flash gaped in surprise as she sullenly nodded. "That's awesome! I-!"
"Didn't you hear what I said?" she snapped, nearly shoving him into the water. "First, he kicked my mum out because of nothing, and me when I was fifteen for my skin turning silver. He sucks, don't you get it? He's supposed to be in jail for illegal arms dealing, but I don't why the board came from that company since it went under. I need to…"
Thunder took her shoulder, halting her from going off. A worried, fearsome expression dawned on him, asking, "Argent, do you believe he would do this on purpose?"
"Because he's a jerk. Remember when I told you he kicked me? He only kept me around before I was changed to be trained as the perfect daughter. Boy, was I stupid…"
Her arms crossed, glaring away at the roof. Argent had two prominent memories that stuck in her mind forever when she was fifteen. Upon her fifteenth birthday, Argent's skin transformed into an alluring silver with her blue eyes turning into rubies. Her friends disowned her, only using her for her money. Frederico kicked her out, proclaiming she was a freak and undeserving to be his daughter. Argent was overwhelmed in sadness, nearly suicidal if she was not teleported to the H'san Natall's world.
The H'san Natall were a malicious, war-mongering alien race led by King Ch'ah. She learned that her dear mother was impregnated by the seed of the H'san Natall, not her human, when her mother was unconscious. Hot Spot was one of them, becoming friends with him and newcomers who chose to not become Titans, Risk and Fringe. They went against Ch'ah, deciding to not be used for violence and escaped with the shy, but rebelling princess of the world, Prysm. They combined their powers, defeating Ch'ah and his army and returned to Earth. However, Argent had no home to return to, but reconnected with her retired mother in New Zealand and lived there until she joined the Titans.
"Hey, come on, Arg. Don't worry about him." Kid Flash placed her arm on her shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"He is right. Your father cannot harm you anymore." Thunder grinned warmly, patting her other shoulder.
"You two saw the diving board. It's like no matter what I do, he's haunting me," she lamented.
Thunder and Kid Flash exchanged a very swift look of concern. In Kid Flash's case, he was raised by his Aunt Iris after his parents were killed in a fire. For Thunder, his father banished him and Lightning due to their fond affection for the mortal realm and her inhabitants. They never had a bond with their fathers, but Argent, as twisted as her father was, had a connection with a man who acted like he loved her. Even if that love was fake, Argent believed it was real in her youth. As she started walking away, Kid Flash snapped his fingers, and Thunder snatched her waist, heaving her in a gripping hug.
"Wha-? Blue boy, KF, what is this?" Argent demanded, balking.
"Well, Arg, Thunder and I hate to see a beautiful girl like you so depressed. So, Thunder! Is it kidnap time?" Kid Flash proclaimed, hands on his hips.
"It is always kidnap time," Thunder replied, and he summoned his cloud.
"What the hell are you two goobers doing?" Argent shouted, squirming in Thunder's powerful grip.
"We're taking you to America. There's awesome shizz going on!" Kid Flash giddily explained.
"…Did you say 'shizz?'" Thunder and Argent asked in surprised unison.
Kid Flash frowned at their smirks, snapping, "Ya know what? Shut up. To Jump!" A streak of red bolted off, leaving Thunder and Argent behind.
Thunder shook his head, stepping onto his cloud and took off after him. He continued holding her waist, ensuring she would not escape. Argent glanced down at her attire, realizing she was still in her bikini. Stating this fact to Thunder, she smirked at his flustered face as he stumbled back with a stammering apology for any rudeness. Before Thunder knew it, he was tripping off the edge of the cloud until Argent snatched his arm and pulled him up,
"Well, blue boy, what are you two planning?" Argent warily questioned, crossing her arms under her ample chest.
Thunder shrugged his heavy shoulders. His eyes fixated onto her chest, staring absentmindedly and muttered, "I do not know."
"Thunder, my face is up here," she stated, snapping her fingers in front of his nose.
Gasping, Thunder fervently apologized, averting his gaze immediately. How he could do something so dishonorable as look at her chest frightened him. She was a beauty, but he knew better than to be lecherous in her time of distress. Crossing his arms shamefully, Thunder felt a blush creep along his face until Argent sat down at the edge of his cloud. Kneeling by her, he cocked his head slightly in worry.
"I just realized that we, as in you, me, and KF, are in clothing suitable for a pool. Wanna ditch him and make our own memories?" she asked coyly.
Thunder grinned mischievously, directing his cloud in the opposite direction. "That sounds like much amusement. So, tell me, why do you continue to think of your father?"
Argent sighed, hands to her cheeks. "When you think someone loves you, it hurts to know you've been betrayed."
"I know the feeling. I thought my father, Raiden, loved me as well, but it seems that Thunder and Lightning were only being used." He placed his hand onto her shoulder, smiling warmly. "I believe we are in the same boat, Argent, and I would be happy to escape drowning with you."
She gazed up at him, recalling the first time she met Thunder. His brother was standing on the table at Titans Tower, trying to act all arrogant as Kid Flash dashed in front of him to search for food. They got into an argument over something, maybe about how Kid Flash stepped in Lightning's shadow. Argent was a good distance away, speaking with Pantha when she saw an electrical burst break the drink in her hand. As she went to clean it up out of courtesy alone, Argent returned to find Thunder, who all ready had the cloth in his hand and mopped the floor. He humbly smiled to her, apologizing for his brother's thoughtless actions, and she deemed him the nicest boy in the room.
Argent leaned into him, smiling as he felt color touch his face for what seemed to be the hundredth time. She cuddled into him, linking her arm through his. "Aw, you're cute, blue boy, trying to be all noble."
He quickly averted his gaze, muttering, "Please, stop maneuvering your chest onto my arm."
Argent snickered into her palm, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You know, you're cute when you're red."
Thunder gulped, completely unnerved and murmured, "I-I, uh, w-well…" He looked at her chest again. "…Is it memory-making time?"
She pecked his chest, surprising the bashfully crimson elemental. "For us, blue boy, it's always memory-making time."
…
"Those jerks," Kid Flash grumbled, still in his trucks as he stood in the middle of a crocodile pit. His idea for fun was try to emulate Steven Irwin. The other two were suddenly thankful they ditched him.
…
"Kole!" Lightning blurted, slamming the door to her underground home open. "Stop your flirtatious-!"
"Lightning!" she screamed, snatching the towel and threw it around her naked self. "I just got out of the shower, you jerk! Zap, learn to knock!"
"…Hee hee, I saw you naked," he chortled stupidly. However, he felt a demonic presence loom over him. Weakly, he turned around and faced Gnarrk in absolute fear.
"Kill him, Gnarrk! Just enough for him to stop being a perv!" Kole cried, jabbing her finger at Lightning.
"I am not a 'perv' as you deem Lightning! I-yeep!"
Gnarrk snatched Lightning by his hair, whipped him over his head, and chucked him out the door. His horrified wail echoed in the underground world, bringing smiles to the two friends' faces. They exchanged a thumbs-up before hearing Lightning's shriek a single, unmistakable word.
"Dinosaurs!"
"Uh, oh," Kole muttered, watching Lightning get chased by the ravenous beasts. "We need to help!"
Gnarrk bluntly glowered at her.
"Eh, you're right. He probably deserves it."