Teen Titans © DC Comics

62. Envious

"Hey," Hot Spot greeted slowly, sitting down with Argent as they gazed at the prisoner before them, "how's it going?"

He said nothing, merely glaring at the metal table with venom in his once vibrant, blue eyes.

"C'mon, say something to us," Argent requested, a somber frown forming on her silver face. "It's us, your friends."

A gruff, low laugh was her response. He refused to meet their gaze as his shaggy bangs covered his eyes. Slowly, he shook his head, and in his previously light-hearted tone, he snarled, "Friends. Yeah, sure you are."

"Risk, don't do this to us, okay? We are your friends. We've all known each other since we were sixteen!" Hot Spot blurted, throwing his hands out on front of him. "We just wanted to know why, got it? Why do all this? You got yourself locked up in jail, man!"

"Hot Spot, that's enough," Argent warned, placing a hand on the Moroccan's shoulder. Feeling him simmer down as he breathed somewhat heavily through his nose, she returned his glance back to her former comrade. "We don't want to talk to you as Titans, Risk. We want to talk as friends."

He was the same age as they were. The trio had been born on the same day, making them all seventeen, and they had known each other for two years and a couple months. However, he had fallen out of the group once they had finished saving the galaxy from that murderous alien race. Neither Argent nor Hot Spot had heard from him until Robin called them both in, stating he was in Jump City's prison for robbing several stores.

Dressed in a baggy, orange jumpsuit, Cody "Risk" Driscoll had seen better days. Risk had five times the abilities of normal humans, and he was quite an attractive man. When he first met Argent, she was still a bit of a vapid, air-headed girl from New Jersey, and he flirted with her constantly only to realize she wanted to stay strictly friends after, well, Hot Spot "died." Sighing, he scratched through his uncombed, surly locks and merely smirked at them,

"Okay, buddies, let's talk. Whaddaya wanna talk about?" Risk inquired, placing his hands on his cheeks and winked at Argent.

Ignoring his obvious intentions, Argent replied, "About why you're here. Why didn't you come to us if you needed help?"

"Why? Ha!" He threw his head up slightly, amused by her wording. "Help? From you, Argent? You wouldn't even lift a finger a year ago, and you-" He pointed an uneven fingernail in Hot Spot's direction. "-just wanted to go home and not be involved with any of the H'san Natall!"

"This isn't about us, man. It's about you," Hot Spot interjected as Risk narrowed his infuriated gaze. "Why did you do what you did?"

"I was starved for cash. I needed somewhere to make dough."

"You could've come to us-"

"Aw, can it, Arg. I haven't seen you two in months. How come you two got to be Titans when I was stuck in a dead-end job with grades lousy enough to flunk outta senior year, huh? How come you two got everything perfect when you guys don't deserve it?" Risk's tone increased, malice coating his tongue with every venomous word he hissed. "You were a dumb girl that let 'Daddy' do everything for her, and you were a sandlot nothing!"

"Hey, why don't you shut up, Risk! At least we didn't lower ourselves to stealing! You could've joined the Titans without this drama!" Hot Spot retorted, standing up and glowered down at the smirking teen.

"Shut up! Both of you just shut up!" Argent bellowed, grabbing Hot Spot's shoulders and forcing him to sit. Taking another breath, she combed through her hair, glancing down at Risk's wrists. Tightly clamped around them was a pair of handcuffs with a metal bar to connect Risk to the table so he would not be able to strike them. He could still point and gesture, but that was it. "Risk, we've been through so much together. You were the one who loved to show off his powers. You loved to show off to me and Prysm. When we went into space to fight the H'san Natall last year, you were the only one who kept bragging about his powers. Out of the three of us who grew from the experience, you were the only one who didn't."

"That's a lie! Of course I did!" Risk snapped, ready to stand up and face her when he gasped. Looking towards Hot Spot, he found he had powered up and had his fist coated in flames. "Sheesh! Look at him, and I'm the bad guy? He's trying to set me on fire."

"I'm warning you to not do anything stupid," Hot Spot explained, letting the flames dissipate. "Listen to what Argent has to say."

"Remember when we fought King Ch'ah to save Prysm? You were the only one who used his powers to make yourself look cool in front of Prysm. Hot Spot and I were trying to save her, and you just kept wasting your powers on Ch'ah's goons, calling back to your quote on quote 'baby' to 'watch in awe.' We had to do the real work in getting her out of there. After Hot Spot nearly 'died' to save us, it showed me how to be selfless. Prysm learned that as well." She leaned forward, gripping his shoulders tightly. "Risk, you were the only one who acted nonchalant about Hot Spot's sacrifice, and it's because you cared only about making yourself look cool. That's the reason why you weren't invited to join the Titans when the Brotherhood of Evil attacked. When you learned you weren't going to be a Titan, it's more than obvious you were enraged, so when the Titans saved the world, you lashed back and robbed those stores in hopes of showing your skills to Robin to make you a Titan, but look where it got you." Leaning back, she smoothed down her jagged, ebony locks, stating, "Don't try to argue back. You know I'm right."

Risk remained silent, staring at Argent with wide, frightened eyes like a deer in headlights. In all the time that he knew Argent, she could always pin-point a person's wants and motivations. She had what he deemed a mental radar that allowed her to psychological scan a person's features and past after talking to them about it to understand their history, desires, and influences.

When he heard Hot Spot and Argent were Titans, Risk was immediately concerned. Why not him? He was just as good as they were with stopping the H'san Natall and all that. He had been denied entrance into the Tournament of Heroes because of his selfish act to strive for approval and awed applause. On his own, he continuously messed around and found his grades slipping, and his mother's patience faltering as well. When the Titans recruited Argent over him, he snapped.

"How could you even decipher all of that?" Risk mused, looking away at his knees.

She smirked, crossing her arms. "I've known you for a quite a while, Risk. We may have fallen out of touch, but you're still like a brother to me."

"Same for me, man. You could've asked for a recommendation from me to get you into the Titans." Hot Spot nudged Argent's shoulder, sending her a wry smirk. "Arg here only wanted to join because she had a crush on Robin."

Gasping, she slugged Hot Spot in the shoulder, her cheeks a blinding red. "I so did not! Don't tell Risk that!"

"Really? Explain why you had all of those posters of Robin in your old room."

"I didn't have posters, you cocky flamehead!"

Risk stared at them as they bickered, shock touching his features. Cocking his head as Argent socked Hot Spot in the chest, he asked, "Well, what can I do? I've messed up severely."

"Serve your sentence first," Argent ordered, waving her finger at him like a scolding mother to her child, "and don't think of breaking out. We'll know, and we'll have to kick your butt for it."

"After that, I'm sure Robin would love to have a talk with you on possible membership. We'll vouch for you." Hot Spot grinned, powering down and offered his head. "Deal?"

Risk observed their earnest, smiling faces for a few more moments. They were offering him a second chance, even after all he had done to them with his egocentric needs to appear cool in front of everyone. Slowly, a smile unzipped itself on his face, and he reached up, gripping Hot Spot's hand tightly as Argent placed her own over their hands.

"Deal."