"TITANS SOUTH" - A TITANS SOUTH TEAM IS CREATED, BUT THINGS ARE A LITTLE BIT AWKWARD FOR HOT SPOT.
TITANS SOUTH
Hot Spot skyrocketed across the sky making loops of fire as he did so before settling on top of a building's roof. As he stepped to the edge, his flames diminishing to show off his natural skin, his eyes widened in excitement and he couldn't stop the "whoa" from escaping his lips. His eyes settled over Domino City, his city. Well, not entirely is what he had to remind himself as his gaze fell upon the large T shaped tower facing the city. Domino City belonged to Titans South, the team he was to join along with four other members of the Titans Network.
Unable to contain his excitement Hot Spot leapt off the building, his skin coverting into flames, and took off in the direction of the tower. "Wooohooo!"
He couldn't wait to step inside that tower and meet his new teammates. As he drew closer to the tower he pondered who they could be. Perhaps Wildebeest? Or maybe Thunder and Lightning? There was also the possibility of Bushido.
Hot Spot smiled at the thought as he entered the tower. "That would be so cool! I wonder if he would let me borrow his sword," he thought out loud as he entered the common room. Upon stepping inside his eyes fell upon a large serpent like green creature with red eyes. The creature hissed at him and Hot Spot fell backwards, a yelp escaping him.
The serpent like creature pulled away from him and changed into a short green girl who was laughing uncontrollably. Hot Spot, after his heart stopped beating rapidly, took a moment to observe her. The girl had green skin and dark eyes (that sort of reminded him of Aqualad's). She wore light blue booties with a matching skirt and cape that had a folded collar. Her shirt was white and had a large red X that stretched from her shoulders to her waist. Around her skirt was a red belt with a yellow medallion buckle.
"That was hilarious!" she exclaimed, now hovering off the ground and clutching her belly. She snorted and immediately became silent, a blush creeping across her cheeks. She smiled shyly and floated over to the heatster. "You totally should have seen your face."
Hot Spot narrowed his eyes at her. "That wasn't funny. And just who are you anyway? I've never seen you before."
"That's Miss Martian," said a voice, and when Hot Spot turned around he was surprised to see Argent stepping into the room. The pale girl stepped between them and placed a hand on Miss Martian's shoulder. "She's the newest addition to the Titans network. She's also a little bit of a prankster."
"It's a little bit late for the warning," Hot Spot replied bitterly.
"Did I miss it? Did I miss it? Please tell me I didn't miss it!" said the owner of a new voice. A tall and slim girl with glass like skin flew into the room. Her skin shined purple, as well as her short spikey hair that barely touched the top of her ears. She wore a short black top with matching shorts and black lace up combat boots. She paused in her flight and observed the three people before her. Deflated, she landed on the ground, her purple shine now blue as she pouted. "Aw... I missed it. You promised I could watch this time."
Miss Martian flew over to the girl and linked elbows with her. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist."
"Next time wait for me," scolded the blue girl. She turned her attention to Hot Spot and gasped. A grin spread across her face and her body turned green. "Hi! You must be Hot Spot. I'm Prysm. It is so good to meet you."
Before Hot Spot could reply the glowing girl was excitedly shaking his hand. Hot Spot felt like his entire arm would come off and so he ripped his hand away. "It's, uh... nice to meet you, too."
"Hey, wanna go get some pie?" asked Miss Martian abruptly.
"Sure," Prysm answered, turning purple as she followed her green friend.
Hot Spot watched them fly to the kitchen and then turned to Argent. "So... what's her deal?"
"Prysm is a new recruit as well."
Hot Spot nodded slowly. "And the color changing thing? What's that about?"
"The color of her skin changes according to how she's feeling. Purple I guess is normal, blue is sadness, and green is excitement."
Again, he nodded slowly. "Right... Any other colors?"
"Earlier when she walked in Miss Martian pulled the same prank she did on you with Prysm. She got scared and turned orange."
"When did they even join the team?"
"It was very recently, after that whole battle with the Gordanians," Argent crossed her arms. "Wish they had joined sooner. We really could have used their help that day."
"Hey, that reminds me," Hot Spot began. "I never got a chance to thank you for freeing me. It was awesome how you used your powers to create a bat and hit that Gordanian."
An image appeared above their heads in a bubble. A miniture Argent wearing a baseball outfit appeared and hit a Gordanian shaped like a ball with her red bat into the stadium, the jumbo sized screen flashing home run.
Argent swatted the image away before blushing. "It wasn't anything really. I was just doing my job," she said with an awkward laugh.
Hot Spot shrugged. "Well, anyway, thanks. I owe you one," he said before walking over to the sofa.
As he walked away Argent slapped her forehead, muttering to herself so no one could hear her. "Really? 'I was just doing my job.' Ugh, that was so stupid..."
After he sat down on the sofa Hot Spot noticed, moments later, that Argent had joined the other two girls in the kitchen. He sighed as he wondered when their next and final teammate would arrive. He crossed his fingers and hoped for a male companion, someone to play sports and video games with. As he thought this he looked back at the kitchen and noticed the girls had formed a line to braid each other's hair. He cringed at the sight.
The door to the common room opened, alerting everyone. They all turned their heads as their final teammate slowly stepped out of the shadows and into the room, Hot Spot's eyes wide with hope. "Please let it be someone who doesn't braid hair, please let it be someone who doesn't braid hair..."
Their teammate finally emerged into the light, allowing everyone to see who it was.
Pantha.
Hot Spot's body tore into two pieces like paper.
Pantha looked at the three girls over in the kitchen. "What are you doing?"
"Braiding hair," Prysm replied happily.
Pantha frowned. "That is silly..."
Hot Spot sat up. Maybe he could find companionship with Pantha afterall...
"You are doing it all wrong," Pantha said, walking over to the girls. "Let me show you the correct way."
...Or not.
TT
Hot Spot had excused himself to the roof. Once there he whipped out his communicator and called up Robin. He was surprised when the boy wonder wasn't the one who answered his call.
"Hey, Hot Spot," Cyborg greeted with a smile. "Did you make it to Domino City okay?"
"I made it here just fine," he replied before raising a brow. "Where's Robin?"
"He's a little tied up at the moment. Just a sec," Hot Spot watched as Cyborg turned around to fire his sonic cannon. The metallic teen returned seconds later. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Actually... it's about the team I've been assigned to. I can't help but notice I'm the only... boy."
"That's not a problem is it?" Cyborg asked distractedly, firing his sonic cannon again.
"Uh, no... It's just... A little awkward I guess."
"I'm sure right now it doesn't seem like the best situation, but give it some time and I'm sure you'll change your mind. Bumblebee thought it was awkward at first being on a team with only guys, but eventually it didn't bother her anymore."
"I guess...," Hot Spot said with a frown. He narrowed his eyes at the screen. "What is that you're fighting?"
"A giant evil puppet created by Puppet Master."
"Oh. Good luck."
"Thanks. Later, Hot Spot."
Hot Spot shut his communicator, hoping that Cyborg was right, then paused. "Aw man! I forgot to ask about the gamestation."
TT
Hot Spot leaned against the wall with his arms crossed as he desperately fought the urge to fidget. He bit his lower lip and pounded on the bathroom door. "Miss Martian, hurry up! You've been in there for twenty minutes!"
"I'll be out in a second," she called back.
"You said that ten minutes ago," he whined as he hopped on one foot and then the other. He groaned and dragged a hand across his face.
The door opened and Miss Martian stepped out. "Sorry for taking so long, Hot Spot. The bathroom's all yours."
"Finally," he breathed out with relief, taking a step forward only to be pushed to the side by Pantha. She ran into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. "Hey!" Hot Spot pounded on the door with both of his fist.
The door opened and Pantha growled at him. "Ladies first!"
She shut the door.
Whimpering, Hot Spot slumped to the floor.
TT
A few days later Hot Spot stepped into the common room, a large smoothie in his hand. Once inside he paused, the smoothie dropping from his hands.
The common room walls had been painted pink.
Prysm appeared with a paint brush in hand. "Don't you love it? It really brightens up the room."
Hot Spot screamed and fled the room, dropping his smoothie as he did so.
TT
Hot Spot's countenance was a bored one as he struggled to stay awake as the girls watched a romantic film on the common room television.
"Oh, Betty," said the man on screen. "I love you so much."
"Oh, Brad," sighed the woman before they kissed.
Hot Spot groaned and covered his eyes. "Oh come on... Can we please watch something else?"
Miss Martian and Prysm turned their heads and shhed him. Hot Spot rolled his eyes at them and eyed the remote sitting on the table. He slowly reached for it...
Only to have his hand smacked away by Pantha.
He protested. "But-"
She growled at him.
He huffed and instead reached for the popcorn, his hand accidently brushing against Argent's without him even realizing as she too reached for some popcorn. Argent pulled her hand away and blushed. As he stuffed his face with a handful of popcorn she glanced at him shyly. Feeling bold she yawned and stretched out her arm as if to rest it against his shoulders, but before that could happen he got up and left the common room. Deflated, Argent sighed and slumped in her seat.
TT
Hot Spot walked in the hallway, making his way towards the common room. Just as he was about to enter Prysm stepped out holding a plate of red jello in her hands. "Hey, Hot Spot. Want to try some of the jello I made?" she asked as she pushed the plate forward so it was close to his face.
"Maybe later, Prysm. I wanted to make a call to Cyborg," he replied. He was hoping the metallic teen could give him some advice on his current living situation. It had been a few days since he first arrived at the tower and it had yet to get any better for him... He also hoped to find out how much longer it would be until the tower got its gamestation.
"Oh, well Miss Martian is using the monitor now. She's talking to some guy who calls himself Kid Devil," she looked confused. "I think that was the name."
Hot Spot sighed. "Do you know much longer she's going to be?"
"I don't know. They've been talking for three hours already."
A pause.
"... I'll just go use my communicator."
TT
Hot Spot, Miss Martian, Prysm and Pantha all occupied the common room. Prysm was pointing to pictures in a magazine and Miss Martian would transform into the person shown in the picture. Pantha was occupying her time by making a large sandwich. Hot Spot sat on the sofa watching a basketball game.
Even though the girls were absorbed in their own activities they immediately stopped what they were doing when Argent walked into the room. Miss Martian gasped, Prysm turned yellow due to her surprise, and Pantha... took a bite of her sandwich.
Argent stepped into the room wearing a white dress with long sleeves. She paired it with a black vest and boots.
"Argent, you look amazing," Miss Martian said, flying over to her side and Prysm gave two thumbs up in agreement.
"Thanks, gals. It's just a little something I found in the back of my closet," Argent walked closer to the sofa. "Hi, Hot Spot."
He spared her a quick glance before focusing back on the game. "Hey, Argent."
A pause.
Argent leaned a hand against the sofa. "What are you watching?"
"The basketball game."
"Sounds interesting," she paused, hoping he would say more, but when he didn't she spun around and marched out the door with a frown on her face.
Pantha then walked over to him and smacked him behind the head.
"Ow!"
TT
Xl Terrestrial increased in size as the members of Titans South closed in on him. A man driving a truck hit the breaks as he nearly ran into the over grown villain. Xl Terrestrial spotted him and picked up the truck, the man screaming as he did so. The gigantic teen then threw the truck at the Titans, but Miss Martian reacted quickly and used her telekinesis to stop the vechile in mid air before safely placing it on the ground. The frightened man then got out of his truck and ran for dear life, worried the villain might try something like that again.
"Titans, go!" Argent yelled, her hands glowing as she conjured a large red fist and slammed it against Xl Terrestial's stomach.
Xl Terrestial staggered backwards, nearly crashing into a building where the citizens of Domino City watched, but Miss Martian used her telekinesis to push him away. Regaining his balance Xl Terrestial tried stepping on the other members of Titans South, but Prysm fried her eyebeams at his feet.
Xl Terrestial pulled his injured foot away while clutching at it and leaping on the other. Hot Spot saw this as an opportunity and powered up.
"I got him!" Hot Spot said, ready to finish the job, but was interrupted by a random car Pantha had picked up to throw at the villain, the blue vechile nearly hitting him as it soared in the air.
The car struck Xl Terrestrial in the nose and the villain fell backwards, making a large sized hole of himself in the street before skrinking down to size, his eyes closed in defeat.
"We won!" Miss Martian announced happily as Pantha and Prysm high fived each other.
"Good work team," Argent said. She looked over at the reclusive Hot Spot who was standing away from the girls with his arms crossed. She looked back at the girls. "How about we celebrate with some pizza?"
"Uh... Xl Terrestrial destroyed the pizza shop," Prysm pointed out as she gestured towards the smashed pizza shop Xl Terrestrial had crushed earlier in their fight.
"We could go to the food court at the mall," Miss Martian offered. "I checked it out when I first got to town."
"Sounds good to me," Argent replied with a shrug.
"Yay! We're going to the mall," Prysm said in a sing song voice as she turned green. She flew ahead with Miss Martian, Pantha and Argent trailing behind.
"Pantha is straved," Pantha noted as she rubbed her belly.
Reluctantly Hot Spot followed as well. He grumbled under his breath. "... had to cut me off... didn't even ask my opinion... impossible girls...," were among the incoherent things he said.
As he walked past an alley an arm shot out and grabbed him, pulling him into the darkness...
Hot Spot struggled against the arms that held him. He managed to get one arm free and fired his flames at the person holding him. The person shielded himself with his arms, the flames not doing him any harm, and when he lowered his arm Hot Spot managed to get a good look at him. It was the villain known as Sabbac, but he wasn't alone. Private Hive, Jonny Rancid and Charger were there too. Hot Spot backed against the wall, his powers on full blast, ready to strike.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there fella," Private Hive said, holding up his arms in innocence. "We just wanna talk."
Hot Spot didn't lower his guard but he was curious. "About what?"
"Well, me and the boys couldn't help but notice that you're having girl trouble."
The flames surrounding Hot Spot's hands increased in size. "So?" he snapped angrily.
Private Hive stepped back a little. "So... me and my friends are here to help."
The flames decreased. "How can you guys help me?"
"It's simple really," Private Hive said, throwing an arm around Hot Spot's shoulders who's flames went out upon contact. "We're here to offer you membership."
Hot Spot pushed the villain away. "No way, dude. I'm a Titan."
"And what good has that done you, huh? Your team doesn't appreciate you. Heck, I reckon they don't even notice you exist half the time. I kbow what that's like. Back when I ran with the Hive Five I got no respect," Private Hive smirked. "If you join us I promise you'll never feel that way again."
There was a pause, and eventually Hot Spot's lips curled into a smirk.
TT
The four girls of Titans South chowed down on their pizza while they sat in the food court at the mall.
"This pizza is great," Prysm said. "It's too bad Hot Spot took off."
"Where did he disappear to anyways?" Miss Martian asked.
It was at that moment they heard an explosion. The four girls immediately jumped out of their seats and ran towards the source of it, terrified shoppers running past them. The girls haulted in their run when they found the source.
Standing by the mall's water fountain was Private Hive, Jonny Rancid, Sabbac, Charger and Hot Spot.
The eyes of the girls widened and Prysm turned yellow.
"Hot Spot," Pantha growled. "What do you think you're doing?"
Prviate Hive placed a hand on Hot Spot's shoulder. "He's with us now."
"That's not true!" Miss Martian claimed, eyes narrowed.
"It is," Sabbac responded. "You guys didn't appreciate him, made him fell like the odd ball out. Now's he with a team that will truly appreciate him."
Argent's eyes softened. "Hot Spot, is that true?"
"Yes, it's true... but these guys are wrong about one thing," Hot Spot said, causing everyone to look at him. The pyro smiled. "I never joined their team. I just lured them down here so we could kick their butts."
Prviate Hive and his team were wide eyed.
Charger clenched his fist. "You tricked us!"
"Duh. There's no way I would actually join you guys. I'm a Teen Titan forever," Hot Spot announced before shooting his flames at the villain. "Titans, go!"
Sabbac leapt into action and blocked Hot Spot's flames with his own fire. Pantha engaged Prviate Hive in battle while Argent took on Charger. Prysm and Miss Martian teamed up against Jonny Rancid.
Jonny Rancid charged forward on his motorcycle, hoping to run over the girls in his path. Miss Martian cracked her knuckles while Prysm yawned in a bored manner. Stepping forward Miss Martian used her telekiness to separate Jonny Rancid from his bike. The villain flapped his arms while he hovered in the air.
"What is this?" he spluttered, confused. He growled. "Hey, get me down!"
Miss Martian laughed and Prysm stepped up. She fired a bolt of energy from her hand that hit Jonny Rancid in the chest, sending him flying into the water fountain.
Charger absorbed the electricity from the lights and used that power to shoot bolts from his hands at Argent who evaded his attacks by flying behind pillars. Argent pressed her back against a pillar and poked her head out to see that Charger was drawing closer. Taking a deep breath she revealed herself and created a large wall inbetween her and Charger, blocking his attack. She pushed the wall forward, forcing him back until he was pushed inside the fountain. Unfortunately for Charger and Jonny Rancid, Charger's electricity gave the two boys a good shock, rendering them both unconscious.
Sabbac and Hot Spot were at a stand still, as were Private Hive and Pantha. Hot Spot bumped backs with Pantha as Sabbac's flames forced him backwards.
"Wanna trade?" Hot Spot asked.
Pantha smirked and smacked hands with her teammate before running forward. She jumped over the fire ball Sabbac sent at her, her hair missing the flame by centimeteres, before landing infront of the villain. She kicked her leg up, knocking him in the chin. The villain staggered backwards before she took hold of his arm and spun him around and around. Finally, after Sabbac cried about being dizzy, she released him, sending him crashing into Jonny Rancid and Charger who were climbing out of the fountain, forcing all three of them into the water and causing Charger's abilities to accidently trigger, shocking them all.
Private Hive blocked Hot Spot's attacks with his shield. Feeling cocky, the young soldier chuckled. Is that all you got Hot Head?"
Hot Spot gritted his teeth before flying around Private Hive, circling him like a predator does it's prey over and over again. "Not quite."
As Hot Spot circled the villain he released a trail of fire that eventually turned into a cyclone of his flames. Private Hive had nowhere to run and his eyes widened in fear. Before he could react Hot Spot charged towards him and delivered a punch strong enough that sent Private High flying into the fountain along with the others.
Hot Spot smiled due to the win as the girls joined his side.
TT
Hot spot stretched and yawned as he walked the hallway of Titans South tower. He briefly wondered what antics the girls would be up to today as he entered the common room. Upon entering he was met with a pleasant surprise.
The common room was no longer pink.
His eyes landed on the smiling faces of his teammates who were watching him. He cocked an eyebrow. "Uh, not that I'm complaining or anything, but what happened to the pink walls?"
"We painted them," said Pantha, holding up a paint brush covered with grey paint.
"For you," added Prysm.
"For me?"
Prysm nodded. "I'm really sorry about painting the common room without asking how you felt about it first."
"It's okay, Prysm," he smiled. "But thanks for painting it back to the way it was. I like this surprise much better."
"And we have more surprises for you, too," claimed Miss Martian. "We decided to fix you up yourt own bathroom."
"That way you won't have to wait forever until Miss Martian comes out," joked Prysm who was then elbowed by the green teen standing besides her.
"We also made you a man cave," Argent announced. "That way you have a place to hide out when we take over the common room."
"And we also promise to pick movies together from now on for movie night," added Pantha with a small smile.
Hot Spot was stunned. "You guys did all of that? For me?"
They nodded.
"But why?"
"Because we wanted to make you feel more comfortable," Argent said. "We're sorry that you didn't feel at home." She pointed a finger at him. "But you could have told us that."
He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Sorry...But seriously guys, ey, girls... Thanks for all of this. I really appreciate it."
"Well you can thank Argent for that," piped up Miss Martian, pushing the blushing pale girl forward. "It was her idea."
"Argent?" Hot Spot repeated, looking at the girl dressed in red and black.
"That's our que to go," mumbled Miss Martian knowingly, flying towards the door. Having telepathy came with many perks.
"What? But I wanna watch," whined Prysm who was dragged out by Pantha, leaving Hot Spot and Argent alone.
"Why would you go out of your way just to make me happy?" Hot Spot asked once the doors closed.
Agrent looked away shyly. "I don't know. I guess because I sort of... like you."
"Oh...," Hot Spot blushed.
Looking at him, Argent grinned and smacked his back rather roughly. "So, the tower's gamestation finally arrived. Wanna race?"
His eyes widened in disbelief. "You play video games?"
She rolled her eyes and headed over to the monitor. "Of course I do. And better than you I bet."
He smiled and raced over to the sofa to join her. "You're so on."
The two grabbed their controllers and smiled at each other, starting the game.
TT
SPECIAL THANKS TO chipmunkswillrule, Angel-of-Energy, THE MAN, Brosky 101, DoubleCresentMoon, BerryDrops, Agent of the Divine One, Pineapple girl 1997, Magic Kiwi, .Waffles AND Redtha FOR THE AMAZINGLY AWESOME REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE MY MOTIVATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT AND KIND WORDS.
I apologize for this late update. I fell behind with my work for school and had to take the time out to focus on that and catch up. Thank you all for your patience!
Okay, about Prysm. She didn't wear clothes in the comic books but I thought it would be neat to add a uniform for her. I feel it makes her more human. Plus is spares me any awkward questions about why she is in the nude (my niece happened to look over my shoulder as I was researching Prysm and asked me where her clothes was).
Only three chapters left to go!
PS - There is not enough female Titan characters. Just sayin'.
NEXT CHAPTER: EVER WONDERED WHAT IT'S LIKE BEING THE PET TO FIVE SUPERHERO TEENS? FIND OUT WHAT IT'S LIKE BEING SILKIE.
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