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Three days after the attack

"Jericho, come out of there!" Jinx waited impatiently outside the dressing rooms, checking out the vairous suit jackets, trying to ignore the music that was playing too loudly. She had taken Jericho shopping for a tuxedo, and the only place that carried suits that would fit his slight frame was the prom store. Therefore, an annoying pop song blared over the speakers. She had helped him pick out a tuxedo, a shirt and a tie, but he had been in the dressing room for too long. "Seriously, if it doesn't fit, just come out." Nothing. Now she was worried. "Jericho, I'm coming in there." She pushed the door open to find Jericho curled in a ball on the floor, shirtless. He had tears running down his face and he was bleeding from a cut on his hairline.

Jericho carried the tuxedo and tie into the dressing room. He was glad for the distraction from his thoughts, and he was tired of being a burden to Herald. His boyfriend insisted on going everywhere with Jericho now, and it was starting to get on Jericho's nerves. When Jinx had asked him to go shopping, Jericho quickly agreed. Jinx decided he should go first since she knew she would be trying on lots of dresses. So they went to the tuxedo store where Jinx had found him a nice black tuxedo and a blue tie that was the same color as Herald's cape. He had gone into the dressing room when it happened. He happened.

Jericho took his tunic and his white shirt off and laid them carefully on the bench. When he straightened up and caught sight of his reflection in the mirror, it wasn't just his relection. Hypnotic was there too, standing behind him. Jericho turned to run, but Hypnotic grabbed his wrists. Jericho was too scared to fight as his mind clouded over. Hypnotic forced Jericho back towards the mirror, forcing him to look at himself in the mirror.

"Look at yourself. Aren't you pretty?" Jericho looked at his bruised reflection. There were dark bruises on his chest and stomach, as well as his arms where the man had held him down. "Well, not as pretty as you were before, but you'll still do." Jericho's eyes widened as he finally struggled to get away. The man whispered in his ear. "Your boyfriend isn't here to protect you, you can't call out for help, and there's no way anyone will ever hear anything over that screeching they call pop music. " Jericho struggled harder until Hypnotic slammed his forehead into the mirror, causing it to shatter. Jericho felt blood running down his face from the new cut on his hairline. "Now, let's start where we left off last time." He grinned at the young boy lying on the ground and knelt over him. Suddenly, the most beautiful sound in the world floated in.

"Jericho, come out of there." Hypnotic looked up from his prize. He couldn't transport himself and Jericho, and he didn't think he could take over the pink sorceress's mind. Hypnotic's greatest secret was that he could only hypnotize full humans. Herald was a gifted human, but human nonetheless. Jinx on the other hand was not fully human, and therefore it would be difficult to take over her mind. "Seriously, if it doesn't fit, just come out." Hypnotic leaned down to Jericho's ear.

"Saved by the bell." Then he was gone again.

"Jericho, I'm coming in there." He curled up in a ball as she walked in.

"Oh my god! Jericho!" Jinx fell to the floor and pulled him to her. "Jericho, what happened?" Jericho was shaking badly and his normally bright green eyes were even brighter, almost feverish. But what worried Jinx the most was the wound on his head. It was bleeding badly like all head wounds do, and she knew he needed medical help. She pulled out her communicator. "Herald! Come in! Jericho is hurt and he's unresponsive! Get over here and help me! If whoever did this comes back, I can't fight and protect him by myself!"

"I'm on my way!" Herald forced his panic down as he blew his horn. He stepped out in front of the mall, and realized he didn't know which store to go to. "Jinx, where are you?"

"Um...that prom store where all the high school boys go to get tuxedos!" Herald remembered that store and with the sounding of his horn he was there within seconds. He ran into the dressing rooms to find Jinx on the floor with Jericho. The sight of his boyfriend sitting on the ground with Jinx trying stop a head wound from bleeding made his blood boil.

"He came back, didn't he?" Jericho nodded. "Did he...did he do anything to you?" Jericho shook his head, then tried to stand only to fall back with a wave of nausea.

"We have to get him to the medical bay. He probably has a concussion." Jinx helped Jericho stand and he leaned into Herald, still wobbly. Herald blew his horn and then scooped Jericho up bridal-style and carried him through the portal. Jericho rested his head against Herald's chest and listened to his heartbeat. Herald carried him to the medical bay and laid him down on a bed while Jinx called the others back to the tower. Herald sat beside the bed with gauze and pressed it to Jericho's cut.

"I'm so sorry! I should have gone with you!" Herald continued to apply pressure as Jericho gently touched his hand. He placed a hand on his heart, then Herald's with his other hand. Herald wouldn't meet his eyes for several moments. Finally, Herald met his eyes, and smiled tiredly. "How do you do it?" Jericho raised an eyebrow. "Make sure everyone around you is happy even if you aren't." Jericho smiled weakly and shrugged. He tightened his grip on Herald's hand, then repeated his previous heart-to-heart motion. "I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you. Even the thought of living without is scary to me."

Jinx walked back into the room to find Jericho sitting up in his bed as Herald stitched up the cut on his forehead. "Aqualad, Hotspot and Kid Flash are-" She was cut off by a flash of red and yellow.

"Kid Flash is here. Only Aqualad and Hotspot are still on their way." Then he saw Jericho. "Dude, what happened?" Jinx filled him in on the details, and when Aqualad and Hotspot arrived, all but Herald and Jericho left to talk strategy. Jericho really did have a concussion, so Herald brought him into the living room where they watched movies until Jinx agreed that it was safe for Jericho to fall asleep. Watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies, topped off with a selction of animated Disney movies that Jericho loved, took the rest of the day and most of the night. Jericho had accelerated healing like most meta-humans, and his concussion had been minor, so he had healed enough to sleep.

Herald held his hand as he walked to his room where he gathered his guitar and put on his pajamas. He walked back to Herald's room and went inside. Herald laid down with him and wrapped his arms around Jericho's thin waist. "Goodnight, Jericho."

He was walking through the empty tower. Where was everyone? He couldn't find any of his teammates, not even Herald. He flipped open his communicator. His was specially designed with a button for each teamate: pink for Jinx, orange for Hotspot, blue for Aqualad, red for Kid Flash, and gray for pushed each one, only getting static in response. He wandered past the weight room, and then the garage, and then each heros' room. Jericho went into the living room to find all the moniters were off. They were never off, even at night. Suddenly the tower went into lockdown, shutting him into the living room with metal walls and locked doors.

Jericho had no destructive powers of his own, and the codes he would have entered didn't work when the moniters were off. Now he was starting to get scared. He tried his communicator again with the same results.

"Hello, Jericho."

Jericho sat up, gasping for air and looking wildly around. "Jericho! Jericho, you're alright, it was only a nightmare!" Herald tried to grab Jericho's wrist as the boy tried to stand, only to see a look of pain spread across Jericho's paniked face. Herald looked down and realized that Jericho's wrists were still badly bruised, even more so now since the incident in the dressing room. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" He released Jericho and ran after the boy as he sprinted out to the living room. It was around eight thirty in the morning, and the others were gathered around the breakfast table. They all stood when Jericho ran into the room and approached him. Jericho stopped in front of his team as Herald joined them. Jericho's lower lip trembled as he saw all his friends sitting in the sunny room, and the nightmare seemed far away.

"Jericho, what happened, sweetheart?" Jinx held out her arms to him, and Jericho all but fell into them. "Sweetheart, what happened?" Jinx was worried. She never called anyone by pet names, so the fact that she had called Jericho sweetheart twice revealed the depth of her concern.

"He had a nightmare." Herald stood off to the side, ashamed he had caused Jericho pain. Jericho nodded.

"What was it about?" Jinx tightened her arms around Jericho like she was afraid he'd disappear. Jericho disentangled himself from Jinx and gestured to them. "It was about us?" Jericho nodded. "Where were we?" Jericho shrugged. "You don't know?" Jericho shook his head. He gestured to the tower. Hotspot joined in.

"You were in the tower?" Jericho nodded. "And we weren't there? You couldn't find us?" Jericho nodded, and his eyes filled with tears.

"He was there, wasn't he?" Aqualad put a hand on Jericho's shoulder. "Hypnotic. He was in the tower, wasn't he?" Jericho nodded, and looked over to Herald who was still standing away from the group. He held out a hand to his boyfriend, but Herald turned and walked away. Jericho took a last look at his teammates, and ran after Herald.

He caught up with Herald in the hallway and grabbed his arm. He tried to look in his eyes, but Herald refused to meet them. As he spoke he became more and more agitated. "Jericho, I hurt you! I wasn't there for you. Twice! How can you possibly still love me when I'm never there for you? How can we keep this relationship going if I can't protect you when you need me and-" Jericho did something completely out of character. He slapped Herald across the face. Herald was shocked out of his mind. Jericho pointed at Herald's eyes, then at his own. He took Herald's hand and placed it over his heart, then leaned forward on his toes and kissed Herald. He let himself settle into his older boyfriend's embrace as Herald finally broke down and kissed him back. He twined his fingers through blonde hair as Jericho wrapped his hands around Herald's neck.

Even though a criminal obsessed with Jericho was still at large and no relationship is perfect, in that moment, two souls were perfectly in tune.

Alright, chapter five! This story is definately going in a different direction than I originally imagined. But I like it. Read and review!