"His…his father is…" stuttered Beastboy.
"Slade," said Cyborg, "His father is Slade."
Jericho made frantic hand gestures. Raven read them and smiled gently.
"Of course we're not going to make you leave," she said quietly.
"If anything," said Robin, "This makes you staying with us even more important."
"I do not understand," said Starfire, "When did Slade have children?"
Jericho explained and Raven translated.
"Slade was married to Jericho's mother, but then they separated after Jericho was born," she explained, "But when Slade heard about Jericho's powers he came after him."
"That must have been after we last saw him," said Cyborg.
"Is it safe to leave your mother on her own?" asked Beastboy.
"He says that she should be fine," said Raven, "But she doesn't know where he's gone."
"Shouldn't she get some help?" asked Robin.
"She'll be fine now that's gone. Slade was only interested in him." Said Raven.
Jericho looked down at the floor.
"It's going to be okay Jericho," said Raven, "But I think it's best that we call your mother and let her know that you're safe."
Jericho nodded, looking guilty.
"You did the right thing Jericho," said Robin, "If you'd left a note, Slade could've found it and come after you."
"But…" said Starfire, "I suspect that Slade would be smart enough to know that Jericho would come to us."
"True," said Robin, "but we've dealt with him before."
Cyborg did one final scan to check that Jericho's lungs were empty of excess water and then Raven took him to the living room.
"What's your number?" she asked him, and dialled the numbers as he showed them to her.
There was ringing at the other end before the phone was picked up. A woman was at the other end. He voice was urgent and stuffy, as though she had been crying.
"Hello? Adeline Wilson speaking,"
"Mrs Wilson? This is Raven from the Teen Titans speaking…"
"Oh my God, Joey!" said the worried voice at the other end, "What's happened to him?"
"There's nothing wrong with…Joey was it?" asked Raven, "He arrived last night after falling off the railway bridge into the water, but he's fine now. We just wanted to contact you to let you know he's alright."
"Thank god," said Adeline Wilson, "Thank you so much. When's Joey coming home?"
Raven looked over at Jericho and pressed the speaker button so Jericho could hear what his mother was saying.
"I'm afraid that we can't let him go home just yet," said Raven.
"Excuse me? He's my son!"
"I know and I'm sorry, but…do you have any idea why he left?" asked Raven.
"No, he never told me anything was wrong,"
Raven took a deep breath before speaking into the mouth piece.
"His father, Slade Wilson has been trying to hunt him down."
There was a deep silence on the other end of the phone.
"Is there any chance that he'd be able to find you?" asked Raven.
"N…no…we separated a long time ago…"
"Your son told us that," said Raven, "If there is any chance that he'd come after you, you have to leave right now and go into hiding somewhere safe."
Jericho waved to get Raven's attention and signalled to her what he wanted her to say.
"Joey says…he says that he wants you to stay safe and not to worry…he's in good hands and he doesn't want his father to come after you while looking for him…and that he loves you…"
There was crying at the other end of the phone.
"Can Joey hear me?" asked Adeline.
"Yes," said Raven quietly.
"I love you too Joey," she said, "I…just stay safe and come home soon okay honey?"
Joey nodded.
"He's says yes," said Raven, "And I just want to say that you don't have to worry. The titans have come up against Slade many times before and we know what we're up against."
"Thank you…just make sure you kids don't go getting yourself into too much trouble…Slade Wilson is an expert killer…I have to go…stay safe Joey…for me…"
There was a soft click and a buzzing noise. Raven put the phone down and looked over at Jericho, who was hastily wiping tears from his eyes on his sleeve. Raven put a hand on his shoulder.
"It'll be alright," Said Raven, "And for now, this is your home, so make yourself comfortable."
Adeline Wilson put the phone down and closed her eyes to stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks.
"Now Adeline," hissed Slade, "That wasn't so hard was it."
He pulled the gun away from her back.
"And now that I know where my son is," said Slade, "I should have no trouble retrieving him."
Slade began to walk away, the gun still in his hand. Adeline glared at him angrily.
"If you lay a finger on him I'll kill you Slade," she called after him.
"Don't worry," said Slade, holding up the gun, "With this I won't have to lay a finger on him."
Adeline covered her mouth and sank to her knees as Slade turned around and aimed the gun at her before pulling the trigger…
Jericho, Robin and Raven were watching Cyborg and Beastboy play their racing game on the computer while Starfire was in the kitchen attempting to cook something that Jericho would like.
"And Cyborg takes the lead…again…" called Cyborg, jumping up and down on his seat.
"Not for long!" said Beastboy tapping furiously on the game controller.
There was a loud bang from the kitchen. Robin looked over to see purple liquid trying to escape a pot being held shut by Starfire.
"Star, I told you not to make living food," sighed Robin, "We can't afford a new cooker!"
Robin got up and jumped over the back of the sofa and ran to the kitchen to help her hold down the pot lid. Raven looked over at Jericho, who looked at her questioningly.
"Joey?" asked Raven.
He grinned sheepishly, a pink tinge colouring his cheeks.
"No," said Raven, "It's…I suppose the word most people would use is…cute?"
Jericho signalled to her.
'My-real-name-is-Joseph.'
"Where did you get Jericho from?" asked Raven.
'Long-story'
"Well if you think Joey's bad," said Raven, "Beastboy always gets seriously embarrassed about his real name."
Beastboy suddenly stopped playing and leapt forward to cover her mouth.
"He doesn't need to know that information!" he said.
"What do you mean GARFIELD?" asked Cyborg loudly.
Beastboy let out a short, high pitched scream and covered his ears.
"I can't hear you!" he called loudly and Cyborg began chasing him around the room yelling his real name.
Even Robin and Starfire let go of the pot because they were laughing so much. Unfortunately, this was the break the purple liquid needed to escape and grow about ten times in size.
"Who wants to go out for pizza?" asked Beastboy and everyone ran for the door.
Ten minutes later they were sat around their usual table and the usual argument between Cyborg and Beastboy was breaking out.
"I keep telling you," shouted Cyborg, "Pepperoni isn't real meat! It's processed junk!"
"Great, so it's the mutilated corpses of my animal friends and not only that, but it's got a load of chemicals in it!" said Beastboy, watching Cyborg's face turn green.
"Maybe not pepperoni?" asked Robin, "And we should consider the vegetarian at the table."
Starfire looked over at Jericho.
"Are you also vegetarian?" she asked.
Jericho shook his head and Cyborg laughed.
"See Tofu boy," said Cyborg, "You're the only vegetable at this table!"
Beastboy glared at him and called the waitress over.
"Well have the VEGETARIAN option please," he said loudly.
"God," said the waitress writing it down, "No need to shout, I ain't death darlin'."
She walked away, Beastboy was watching her closely. Raven hit him over the head.
"What did you do that for?" asked Beastboy.
"When you're staring the waitress's behind, I think its best that I hit you before she does," said Raven, "Not to mention that you could get us banned from this place."
Jericho signalled something to her and she let out a small laugh.
"What did he say?" asked Beastboy.
Jericho raised a finger to his lips and Raven nodded. Robin was whispering what Jericho had said to Starfire and Cyborg.
"Come on!" Beastboy whined, "Tell me!"
The titans laughed at Beastboy's distress at being kept out of the loop, unaware that their greatest enemy was currently heading their way…
