Jericho was still blind folded after Herald had carried him to where ever he was now. He was scared for himself, but he was even more scared for Herald. His boyfriend was under a insane man's control, and with his eyes covered Jericho couldn't help him.

Herald was struggling against his body, trying to break Hypnotic's control. He was still holding Jericho, and when Hypnotic finally stopped in an abandoned building, he felt the fear welling up in his throat. "Hypnotic, don't do this to Jericho!"

"I'm not going to do anything to him. Not yet, at least. Oh, by the way, that tracking device won't work in here." He smiled evilly. "Now, hold him still." Herald found his hands holding a struggling Jericho still as red chains wormed their way around his wrists and ankles. Jericho's mouth opened in a silent cry of pain as the chains tightened, and Herald wished death upon himself.

"Stop! I don't want to do this to him!" Herald felt like he was losing the fight against Hypnotic's control. All he needed was a moment of control to free Jericho's eyes, and then they had a chance of getting out safely. But he couldn't break free.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice anymore." Truthfully, the fact that Herald was even able to stay conscious of his actions was putting strain on Hypnotic's powers, but he had greater control over them now. He had been preparing for this day, though he still couldn't possess meta-humans. "You see, I can tell that no matter what I do to Jericho, he will always be yours. Oh, the joys of true love." He laughed. "But what if he wasn't yours anymore?"

"Jericho belongs to no one!" Herald gritted his teeth to get the words out. He had no way of knowing that truthfully, Hypnotic's control over him was weak. But it was strong enough to keep him rooted to one place as the older man walked over and stroked Jericho's naked torso. Thankfully, he still had his pajama pants on. Hypnotic bent forwards as if to kiss Jericho, but stopped when he was just above the boy's lips.

"You know what...you do it." Hypnotic turned to Herald. "Kiss him. Kiss him so hard it leaves a bruise." Herald's mind turned to ice, but he felt his legs slowly moving to do the madman's bidding. He fought, slowing his steps further, but it wasn't enough. "Do it!"

"Jericho, I'm so sorry!" Herald grabbed Jericho's neck and crushed his boyfriend's delicate lips with his own. Jericho struggled, but couldn't get free. Herald wished for death as he finally felt himself release Jericho who fell to his knees. Tears leaked out under the blindfold. "Please, forgive me!" Herald felt his own tears dampen his cheeks. Jericho looked towards the sound and nodded. He mouthed 'I love you always'. Hypnotic was not amused.

"Well, apparently it will take more than that."

"Why are you doing this?" Herald clenched his fists.

"I'm going to make sure that Jericho can't bear to be with you anymore. He won't be able to stand your touvch, your voice, even your smell. And when you've left him broken on this cold floor, I'll pick up the pieces." He smiled. "Now, time to step it up a notch."

"Raven! Raven, come in!" Jinx was frantic.

"What's wrong Jinx?" Raven appeared in the communicator screen.

"Hypnotic took Jericho and Herald and we can't find them because somehow their locators are being shielded!"

"Whoa, slow down. I'll see what I can do." Raven only hoped she would be able to find them in time.

"No!" Herald tried to stop.

"I said hit him!" Hypnotic laughed. Herald stepped forward shakily.

"Jericho, I'm sorry!" He backhanded his love across the face. "I'm sorry! Please, stop! I'll do anything!"

"I know. Hit him harder." Hypnotic smiled, almost normally. Herald saw Jericho actually try to scoot back when he heard Herald's approach, and it broke Herald's heart. But still, he couldn't stop. Jericho was jerked up by his chains by Hypnotic so Herald had a better shot. Herald choked back a sob as he drew back his fist and then felt it connect with Jericho's soft flesh with all the force his body could muster. Jericho arched his back in pain and cried out silently. Herald fell to his knees.

"Please! Don't make me do this anymore!"

"Get up!" Hypnotic watched in satisfaction as his puppet rose from the floor. "Now, I'm going to tell you what to do next." He whispered in Herald's ear, and Herald's eyes widened in shock and fear.

"No...NO! I WON'T DO IT!" He tried to step back. "I CAN'T! I WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO HIM! I LOVE HIM!" He was shouting, but he couldn't stop his relentless progress towards Jericho. Hypnotic felt his control was strained to breaking point, but he pressed on.

"Yes, you will. Remember, I control you. You will do as I say. After this, Jericho will never let you touch him again." From behind his blindfold, Jericho's eyes widened. They were teary from crying with pain and fear, but even then Jericho was unaware of what Hypnotic had told Herald. He was just to naive, too unversed in the evil ways of the world. Until he felt his boyfriend's hands roaming over his body.

"Jericho, please forgive me." Herald was crying openly as he felt up his boyfriend. He pulled Jericho's pants down, leaving him in only his boxers. Jericho's brain suddenly went into overdrive as he realized what his boyfriend was about to do. Even though part of him knew that it wasn't really Herald, the other part screamed in fear and hate. Herald tried one more time. "Don't make me do this! Please!"

"DO IT! NOW! I COMMAND YOU!" Hypnotic felt his control over Herald straining, and he knew that if it didn't happen soon, Herald would be freed and Hypnotic would be too weak to take control again. Herald felt his body move faster under the power of that command. He gripped the fabric of Jericho's boxers. Jericho was still held up by Hypnotic's control over his red chains, which was also becoming unstable.

"Jericho, I'm trying to stop! I swear, I'm trying!" Herald was crying now.

"Oh, I'm sure deep down a small part of you wants to do this." Hypnotic enjoyed the look of pain on Herald's face.

"Please forgive me!" Herald took off Jericho's boxer's, leaving his boyfriend naked. Jericho, though paralyzed by fear, managed to mouth "It's ok. I love you."

Suddenly, Herald took a step back. He felt his body shaking as two warring personalities fought for dominance. Seeing Jericho so vunerable and scared, and the strain that had already weakened Hypnotic, had caused him regain a small measure of control. Hypnotic fought to take over once more, but he failed. Herald fell to the ground as he finally pushed the last vestiges of Hypnotic from his mind, but he was exhausted. He lay on the floor, panting. Hypnotic fell to his knees, also panting.

"Fine. If I can't make you do it, I'll make you watch as I rape the boy you love!" He stood, but with a wave of rage Herald managed to stand and tackle the villain. Herald rose again and staggered to Jericho just as his teammates burst into the room. He ripped off the blindfold covering Jericho's eyes, trying not to see the look in the lime-green eyes.

"Jericho, it's ok." Jericho nodded and phased into Herald. Jericho was glad that his team wouldn't see him that way, and with Jericho inside is mind, Herald had the energy to help the rest of the team take care of Hypnotic.

Everyone wore their goggles, and even though he was a skilled fighter, Hypnotic was outmatched. He couldn't possess any of the team members, and within minutes he was defeated. Jericho phased out of Herald soon after, too tired to hold his form. His teammates averted their eyes while he put his boxer and pants back on. When he turned back around, Herald was gone. Hotspot ran after him. Jinx pulled Jericho into a hug, and Kid Flash joined in. Aqualad squeezed his shoulder, and Jericho turned and hugged his leader.

"Let's go home."

Back at the tower, Jericho was in his room putting on his usual clothes. Herald hadn't come out of his own room since he got back. Jericho sat down on his bed and felt himself wince as he took a deep breath. Herald's punch had left a deep bruise, as did his kiss. Jericho still loved Herald. Truthfully, no matter what had happened in that room, he knew that Herald would always be the one he loved. But when he thought about Herald, he was haunted by the feel of his boyfriend sliding his clothes off. He shuddered. Hotspot walked into Jericho's room.

"Hey, Jericho. You ok?" He sat down next to his teammate. The two were probably the least close on the team, but Hotspot had a soft spot for the youngest member of the team. Jericho nodded and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Don't do that. Don't pretend everything is just fine." Jericho shrugged. "Look, I don't know what happened in there, but it obviously really affected you. And Herald. He hasn't left his room, and niether have you. You don't have to tell me what happened, but you should talk to Herald." Jericho sighed, then felt his eyes fill with tears again. Why couldn't he stop crying? Hotspot put an arm around Jericho's shoulders. Jericho regained control of himself and stood. Hotspot took this as his signal to leave. "Just talk to him, Jericho."

Herald sat on his bed in the middle of his room. He had taken out his anger at himself on his room, and it was in a pitiful state. But his anger was too great, and he had turned on himself. He sat on his bed as the thoughts poured through his head.

"I hurt him. I did the same thing to him that Hypnotic did to him! I kissed him. I hit him. I almost...almost...raped him. Why couldn't I break free before that happened?" He held his face in his hands. He heard his door swish open. "Go away, Aqualad. I don't want to talk!" Herald felt someone sit down next to him on the bed, but he didn't look to see who it was. "I said, GO AW-" He turned and saw lime green eyes staring back at him with a sad look. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to yell." He sighed and turned away. "I'm so sorry. I can't get it out of my mind. I almost...I hurt you. I did exactly what Hypnotic did to you." He felt a soft hand on his arm.

Jericho turned Herald's face towards him, but Herald caught his hand. "Don't. I...I can't stop wondering if...if he was right." Jericho took Herald's hand and squeezed it. "He said that, deep down I wanted to hurt you. That I wanted to do that...that horrible thing to you. What if...what if he was right, and that's why I took so long to break free?" Jericho sat with Herald for a few minutes, until he felt Herald turn towards him. "We can't do this anymore." Jericho whipped his head around. He put a hand on Herald's face, but the boy caught it. "No, don't!" Jericho's eyes filled with tears. He placed a hand over his heart and shook his head. "I don't want to either, but it's what's safest for you! You can find someone else who's better for you! Someone who can't hurt you." Jericho put a finger to his temple and shrugged, shaking his head. Herald smiled. "I'm not making sense?" Jericho raised and eyebrow and shook his head.

Herald rubbed his eyes. "Did I really just pour out my frustrations to you?" Jericho nodded. "Did they make me sound like I haven't slept in a week?" Jericho smiled and nodded. Herald sighed and leaned his head onto Jericho's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm just so confused. Having your mind controlled by Hypnotic is so...different from having you in my mind. He leaves thoughts...jumbled. And I can't stop replaying when I made you cry." Jericho wrapped his arms around Herald and nuzzled into his neck. "Do you really want to stay with me?" Jericho pulled back and looked his love in the eye. Before his memories could flood his mind, Jericho leaned in and kissed Herald. It was soft, and chaste, and only lasted a moment, but it was enough.

"I love you, Jericho. Forever."

Not sure this is really an ending. I might write another chapter if someone asks. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. Please. :)