Morning mist clung to the forest floor as Hot Spot paced in tight circles, nerves sharpening every step.
A blue portal ripped open the air. Wonder Girl stepped through first, solid as stone. Tempest followed, calm as ever. Then came Magik — all leather, swords, and "I might eat your soul" energy. Then came Hex, jacket singed at the edges, boots smoking faintly — like he'd just headbutted a demon and won, but forgot to duck the fireball.
Hot Spot looked at the 4 with confusion, Mark only having joined 2 days prior, while Magik had barely been on the team for 2 months.
"Wonder Girl. It is good to see you, but where is the rest of the team?" Hot Spot asked the apparent leader. "I figured Nightwing or Speedy would be the ones leading the investigation."
"Sorry, Hot Spot, but another situation came up. We had to split the team up to deal with two other situations. Nightwing is dealing with a 'family' issue while Speedy is leading another investigation with the rest of the team." Wonder Girl apologized sincerely.
Hot Spot frowned, and Hex caught the look. Honorary Titans weren't exactly full-time employees — more like freelance heroes with a group chat. They handled their own turf, but called in the real squad when things got messy. The problem was, sometimes too many emergencies popped off at once, and not everybody could be priority one.
"But please don't worry. I made sure to bring some of the best to help with the situation." Wonder Girl could see the worry on his face, so she had to reassure him. "You've got the Tempest, who can hunt down Aquaman across the globe, the girl who makes demons cry, and Hex. Well... Hex is just really good at pissing people off until they talk."
"Either they talk or swing. Either way is fine with me," Hex shrugged
Hearing what the 3 were capable of reassured Hot Spot's shoulders dropped. A grin slipped back onto his face. "I am glad to hear that. Please follow me and I'll show you where I'm holed up."
Hot Spot brought the group through the forest until they were next to a small hill. It looked like the entire hill was covered in moss and vines, but Hot Spot walked through a specific part where it all parted perfectly. Hex and Magik shared a look before following Tempest and Wonder Girl, who had already walked inside.
The group stood next to a board where Hot Spot put up all the information he had on the gang.
"They go by the Ragers, though most people call them the RR or Roid Ragers behind their back. These guys have been active for almost a month and seem to just keep growing. They do everything from robbing armored cars to beating up someone who looked at them wrong. All of them are basically super-soldiers with the minds of teenagers," Hot Spot pointed at one part of the board where he was analyzing the group
"Linked to the other investigation?" Tempest asked, but Wonder Girl shook her head
"No. This is too far, and they don't seem to be showing the same levels of aggression. Just normal gang activity if they all had superpowers." Wonder Girl dismissed it. Which raised a more concerning question. "How do they all have powers then?"
"That's where the leader comes into play. Goes by The Father," Hot Spot supplemented. "The few members arrested say he's able to temporarily give others Meta-human powers, specifically the enhanced physiology that the elite members of the gang have. He runs a gang and a pyramid scheme with his powers."
"Sounds troublesome," Hex muttered. "Guess I should freeze my card while we are in town and go cash only."
"Then we can handle this. Hex will go undercover as a runaway teen just passing through." Wonder Girl had already come up with a plan. "Get caught stealing from someone or trying to hotwire a car. The usual bad boy stuff you think I don't know you do when you're with Constantine."
"Not fair, Wonder Girl." Hex opened his mouth wide in mock offense. "I also cheat at card games."
She rolled her eyes and continued without focusing on his joke, but the smirk playing at her lip told everyone she also thought it was funny. "Just make sure you get their attention, and they try to recruit you. The three of us will investigate at night. Try to figure something out without them knowing the Teen Titans are in town and put their guards up. Hot Spot, keep doing what you're doing."
"Everyone needs to be on their A-Game. Hex, you need to fit in, but make sure you don't cross any lines that should not be crossed. Tempest and Magik, stealth is important. No magic or flashy powers. Hot Spot, just keep doing what you are doing. We are going to stop these guys, but you can't let it slip to anyone. No cops. No friends. No family."
"But shouldn't we at least alert..." Hot Spot started, but the glare from Wonder Girl made him unconsciously close his mouth
"No one. Cops can be corrupted. Anyone can be threatened. If there is even a single mole, the entire operation could get taken down." Wonder Girl did not back down but explained her reasoning. There was a sadness in her eyes from a lesson learned in blood.
A few hours later, in the parking lot of the Tall-Mart, two police officers were approaching a teen in a leather jacket who seemed to be rummaging through a car.
"Freeze!" one of the officers called out. Mark didn't even glance back. He just bolted, already knowing the drill — hit the ground running, leave the cops eating his dust.
The officers chased him through the parking lot, but Mark was faster. He pushed aside a man juggling grocery bags, leapt over a cart, and ducked between two parked SUVs like this wasn't his first time running from cops.
"Great. The Ragers are causing enough trouble, but now this punk's gonna drag us into his mess?" The older officer grumbled, grabbing the radio. "Charlie-103 here, we're in pursuit of a runner. Requesting backup at the east exit."
"Charlie-53, 2 minutes out," came the response.
By the time backup arrived, the only thing they found was winded officers and the soft crunch of gravel under their boots. Mark was long gone, already blending into the crowd with his name unknown.
Near the entrance, four teens exchanged quick glances and nodded. No words were needed. They knew exactly what came next.