Teen Titans © DC Comics

45. Heart Song

Jericho was always a social boy, able to liven up a room with his cheerful personality. Even though he was a mute, Jericho was able to bring a smile to anyone's face. The many emotions he had could not be shared with words, but his face told stories of bliss, anguish, hope, confusion, and solitude of years by himself on an Indian mountaintop. Jericho never dwelled on his past, but, currently, the times were growing rough.

There were moments when the flashbacks became too real. It was as if he was reliving an endless nightmare, and the demon with the blade would forever slit his throat. Blood would gush in scarlet torrents, a geyser of crimson. In his sleep, he would kick, punch, and, occasionally, fall off his bed onto an unforgiving, carpeted floor. Tears would spill wildly from his eyes, staining his cheeks and tunic. There was no one he could speak with about his nightmares about his past, but mostly, his father.

While Robin was once Slade's apprentice, he hated every moment of it. Slade wanted Robin to think of him as a father, drawing resentment from Jericho because he was Slade's true, unwanted child. If Robin found out, Jericho feared his Titans membership would be revoked, and, even worse, he might have been interrogated until his last inch of sanity fled him. Jericho feared Robin's malice towards his father, knowing that any trace of Slade would be used in tracking the criminal mastermind down. Jericho decided to keep his distance from Robin, hiding his secret.

Then, there was Terra, currently missing or suffering from amnesia, who was Slade's second apprentice. He sought her for absolute control, knowing how vulnerable she was. Yet, Jericho never knew of Terra's innocence until Beast Boy told him of her cool, kind nature and insecurity due to her inability to fully control her powers. Terra was an unsuspecting girl, easy prey to his father. However, she betrayed her friends, something Jericho could not understand or relate with. People deceived him while he never did anything wrong.

He learned of others who willingly worked for his father. Before she reformed, Jinx battled the Titans when she, Gizmo, and Mammoth were hired by Slade. Her mission was to annihilate the heroic team before their name was really known. Thankfully, Jinx failed, breaking free from her villainous tirade about two years later. In the case of Thunder and Lightning, Slade deceived the excitable elementals into constructing an enormous fire monster, much to their horror. Lightning was far too hedonistic to understand the damage they had done until Thunder knocked some sense into him. Jericho once asked what the trio knew about Slade, and all three told their tales, asking why, but Jericho would always use the excuse that he was curious.

Jericho wondered why his father sought others to do his bidding. They were all young and in the prime of their lives. He felt betrayed by Slade, who forced him to remain on that mountain in rural India. He was so terribly lonely, and learning about his father's treachery brought pounding discourse and terror into his frail heart. Sometimes, his nightmares involved the ones Slade used, and they slaughtered him, taking turns into killing him with their unique powers. Slade was always the one who delivered the final blow by smashing his fist into his chest and crushing his heart.

One night, the dream was so horrible that Jericho woke up, drenched in sweat. Fear coiled in his chest, heart pounding like a drum as he hugged himself. He sobbed, crystal tears leaking from his emerald orbs, streaming down his face and onto the blanket. He began rocking back and forth, cradling himself like a mother to her baby and shivered frightfully. Every shadow in his room crept closer, claws reaching out to suffocate the poor mute. Jericho wished he could scream and alert his teammates to his distress, but his vocal chords were severed.

"Jericho?"

He gasped silently, hearing knocking on his door.

"You okay? I heard some noises."

Surprise was written vividly over his face. Jericho slinked off his bed, adorning purple pajamas as he hesitantly opened his door. The Herald, wearing a dark blue bathrobe for bed, rubbed his eyes and yawned. They stared at each other, having not seen each other in bedtime clothes before. Jericho pointed at his bathrobe, chuckling slightly. His friend rolled his chocolate eyes, asking if anything was wrong.

"I mean, I heard you thrashing around up in here," Herald explained.

Jericho gazed at him, lime green orbs wide in paralyzed shock. He bit his lower lip, finding the floor and their feet attractive. Shaking his head, he smiled upon looking up, but he knew his friend saw straight through him when Herald crossed his arms. Hearing Herald sigh, Jericho sat down on his bed, keeping eye contact to a minimum. Herald suddenly shut the door, turning to face him with an adamantly concerned expression.

"Seriously, Jer. What's up? You been having bad dreams?"

Jericho reluctantly nodded.

"Well, I'm here to listen." Herald grinned, pearly whites shining. "You wanna talk about it, man?"

Jericho hesitated, dumbstruck at Herald's openness. When he first met Herald, they bonded musically, literally and figuratively. Frequently, they performed jazz together, but Jericho and Herald had become best friends. The "silent guitarist and cool trumpeter" was what others dubbed them. The duo was inseparable, together at each other's sides, and people saw them as an odd pair because of their differences. Jericho was shy now that he was mute, and Herald was loud and doubtful, but neither could deny how well they bonded. Jericho looked at him with wide eyes before hanging his head in shame.

"Jericho?" Herald's hand landed on his shoulder, leaning forward in wonder.

Slowly, Jericho brought up his hands and signed, If you know something bad about me, would you still be my friend?

"Of course, man. Uh, well, if you killed something…"

Jericho quickly shook his head.

"Oh, good. You're too much of a softie to do something like that."

This is a secret. A big one. You can't tell anyone, all right? Please, Mal.

Herald gaped slightly, surprised he would use his actual name. Something was seriously wrong with Jericho by referring to him as his real name. Herald knew whatever knowledge he was about to bestow on him might change their friendship, and he hoped it would be for the better. Taking Jericho's shoulder, he gave it a light squeeze, grinning warmly. Whatever he needed, Herald would be there for his buddy because they were best friends.

My father…my father is Slade.

"Oh, that's it? Okay."

What? Is that all you've got to say? Just an agreement? Jericho scooted away, too surprised to sign anything else.

"Joey, Joey, Joey, you're my best friend. I don't care if Slade's your dad. You've gotta be the nicest guy I've ever met. Well, flying around in Dimension X doesn't give me a lot of time to socialize, but, Joey, you ain't your dad. Slade's a nut job, and you aren't."

Nevertheless, I have nightmares that he is going to kill me!

"Listen to me! Slade can't hurt you. He's not going to hurt you. I'll be protecting you, and the Titans have always got your back. We're a family network, ya see, with our communicators. Help's only a call away." Herald pulled Jericho into a brotherly hug once Jericho began shivering, effectively shushing the younger boy. "So, quit worrying, We've got your back."

Jericho sniffled, wiping his eyes and threw his arms around Herald's neck. At first, Herald was baffled and befuddled by the sudden clinging, embarrassed completely. However, Herald felt another smirk stretching across his face as he tightly hugged Jericho back. His fingers stroked through his blonde hair, calming the trembling youth down. Pulling back, Herald realized Jericho had fallen asleep against his chest. Snickering in exasperated amusement, he placed Jericho into his bed and pulled the blanket over his lithe frame. Slowly, he dragged himself to the door and opened it. Sending a glance over his shoulder, he smiled lightly at Jericho before leaving.

Hot Spot walked by, a cup of warm milk in hand. "Queers."

Herald opened a portal in front of Hot Spot, sending him to Hell. As his friend fell in and screamed, Herald shouted, "You'll fit right in, hothead!"