Fan Fiction ❯ The Walls Of Jericho ❯ The Sins Of A Father Fall To His Son ( Chapter 1 )

The Walls Of Jericho

By

Brandon “GoldenSama” Rice

 

Chapter I

“The Sins Of A Father Fall To His Son”

 

A/N: Welcome to the third Teen Titans fic by Mr. Rice; if you haven't seen my other works “Anything, Anytime, Anywhere for You” or “Ten Years Later”, you may want to check those out. Anyway, this new story is a love triangle starring everyone's favorite shape shifter, mute and goth girl - or as they're better known, Beast Boy, Jericho and Raven. With just a splash of Rob/Star too.
Now as Jericho has not yet appeared in the animated Teen Titans, some of you may think he is an OC. He is not. Joseph was indeed a Titan in the original comics; and he actually did have a relationship with Raven. Anyway, I won't reveal the secrets of Jericho just yet, since he does have some BIG secrets, but let's just say this story should be quite interesting.
This story will use a few elements from the comic, but several things have been changed around to fit in better with the current show storyline. So if you've read the comic, and this seems different; well, duh, it is different. It's changed to make it more to my liking. ^^
Takes place immediately after the episode “The End Pt. III”
Also, this story is Rated PG-13 for Violence, Profanity and Sexual Content. It's just borderline between PG-13 and R, but nothing so bad it requires an R rating. Anyway, you've been warned, so don't flame or complain about that stuff later on; savvy?

 

This chapter dedicated to Mirielle, who inspired this story with the latest review to AFY. I thank you for reading my other stories, and inspiring this one.

AWW Potatoes! I'm such a chowder-head! Jericho's real name is Joseph, not Jacob! I misread! >< I apologize, and have corrected this mistake!

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

A Quaint House In The Suburbs Of Jump City, Several Years Ago

 

Joseph was sitting in his living room, listening to the sounds of his parents arguing through the wall. Joseph was still very young then, and his memories of that day are very hazy. His eyes danced over the glow of the television set as he listened to the raised voice echoing through the thin walls.

 

“You! It's been you all this time?” His mother shouted through the wall. “How could you?”

 

“You don't understand anything.” His father replied on the other side of the wall. Mr. Wilson's voice was cold and harsh.

 

“I understand perfectly; you're a murderer! An assassin for hire for Christ's sake! You're not the man I married anymore.”

“That is where you're wrong Addie. I had a taste for blood back then, the only difference was the military was paying me to kill; now I work for less credible employers, but the business is the same.”

 

Both Adeline and her husband had been in the military. He had been the subject of military experiments that enhanced his mind and body and made him a nearly perfect killing machine. Unfortunately, the drugs had also affected his sanity and diluted it down to a point where, despite his genius, he was criminally crazy. He had a taste for blood, and once the military discharged him, he had not lost it.

“You're a disgrace! An abomination!” Adeline screamed towards her husband.

 

Joseph's father scoffed. “You'll never understand what's going on in my head, so why should I bother trying to explain it to you?”

 

Joseph's parents were shouting so loudly he couldn't hear the television, so naturally he couldn't hear the minute sound of someone picking the lock on his front door. Joseph reached down beneath the old leather couch he sat on and began to dig around for the remote control so he could turn up the volume. Finally, he was successful in finding it and he sat back up; and he gasped.

 

A man stood in front of him. The man grabbed Joseph and put a hand around his throat, keeping him from screaming out. The man was tall and strong and lifted the small child into his arms. Joseph felt something cold and sharp press against his throat - the blade of a knife. A moment later, he heard his father scream from the next room, and the sound of gunshots. Joseph's small body shook his fear and his blue eyes were wide with terror. Then he saw the door to his father's bedroom burst open. His father came out, holding a bo-staff in his hands. Behind his father, Joseph saw Adeline Kane, his mother. She held a gun in her hands, and it was still smoking.

 

“Joseph!” Joseph heard his mother scream his name when she saw him.

 

“Get back, Addie.” His father growled through gritted teeth. “Let go of my son, you sonovabitch.”

 

The man who held the knife against Joseph's throat smirked and pressed the blade deeply into the blonde boy's pale neck. The boy's father stopped dead in his tracked and stared, with eyes wide, at his frightened son. Joseph struggled and tried to break free, but as he did so, it only caused the knife to scrape his throat and slice into him a tiny bit. A thin trickle of blood poured down, and Joseph screamed out of terror.

“Daddy, help me!” Joseph screamed. It would be the last thing he would ever say, in his own voice, at least.

 

“Let him go!” Joseph's father demanded again. The man with the knife did not comply. Instead, he let his eyes twitch with fury and frustration.

“Let him go? I don't think so, Deathstroke.” The man spat at Joseph's father. “You brought this on yourself when you killed our boss. This is payback, Terminator.”

 

Joseph's father let out a growl of fury that had built up inside his chest. “If you know who I am, then you know how painful your death will be if you harm one hair on my son's head!” He spat in a hostile rage.

 

“I don't give a damn about the boy's head; I'd rather slit his throat and let you watch his blood flow—OUCH!”

 

The man never finished his statement. Joseph's father jumped forward and thrust his bo-staff in-between one of his son's elbows, catching Joseph's captor in his stomach. The man stumbled backwards, dragging the knife across Joseph's petite throat as he fell. A trickle of thick, warm liquid sprayed the room and his father's face; dying it all deep crimson. Joseph tried to scream, but sound refused to come from his severed vocal cords. Instead he fell into unconsciousness with tears falling from his eyes and mixing into the blood coming from his throat.

“NO!” Joseph's father screamed in horror. His normally calm demeanor even in the face of battle and danger was shattered; he became a raging animal. He beat the man who had stabbed Joseph in the face savagely with his bo-staff, but a moment later, as he took notice of his injured son, he dropped the bo-staff and picked up his son, cradling the young boy in his arms.

 

“Joseph! Joseph!”

 

“Do you see now?” Adeline spoke, her voice was calm and soft; exactly what a mother's voice should not be after an assassin stabbed her son in the throat.

“Addie, call the paramedics!” Her husband screamed at her.

 

“Do you see what your bloodlust has done to us? You killed our son. He is dead because of you!” Adeline screamed.

 

“Addie, you can blame me later; call the hospital now, damn it!” Her husband shouted in a voice full of authority and rage, but she shook her head. Tears flooded her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, and slowly she raised the hand that held the gun and she aimed it at her husband.

 

“Addie, what are you doing?” He asked her, his voice suddenly sobering up and becoming calm and cold.

 

“I'm avenging our son, you bastard.” Adeline spat. Then she pulled the trigger.

 

Her husband screamed as a bullet exploded from the gun. Normally he could dodge bullets, thanks to his enhanced physical abilities because of the military drug. However, Adeline was only inches away when she shot the bullet. He did move to the side, but not fast enough. The bullet tore right through the center of his left eye, and he fell backwards, hitting the ground with a soft thud as his eye exploded and the bullet tore out of the back of his skull.

 

Adeline reached down and scooped up the injured Joseph, cradling the dying boy in her arms. She turned and ran out of the house, towards her car. The rain fell down and pelted her body, washing blood from Joseph's throat onto her clothing. She quickly entered her car and drove towards a nearby hospital.

 

Amazingly, Joseph survived the day. Surgery saved his life, but he lost the ability to speak. He was mute, and would be for the rest of his life.

 

However, Joseph would soon develop powers that made the need to speak something of a mute point in itself. He would go on to join Searchers Inc., his mother's detective agency.

As for his father, when Adeline returned home, her husband's body was gone.

 

----

 

Titan's Tower, Present Day

 

It had been a week since Trigon invaded and destroyed the Earth. One week since Trigon was defeated by his daughter, Raven, and his dark world returned to the way it was before he came. One week since normalcy had returned to the Teen Titans, more or less.

 

Normalcy was not something common with five teenage superheroes that live in a giant T. They had always been a bit strange, from Starfire's use of mustard as a condiment on nearly everything she eats, to Beast Boy's campaign to replace all meat in America with tofu; the Titans were certainly weird. However, since the conflict with Trigon, many things had changed around the tower. It had been an amazing battle, and the Titans had received their fair share of surprises. From having to face dark copies of themselves, to temporarily using Raven's powers, and their temporary alliance with Slade, their archnemesis, it seemed like the shocks just kept coming. However, the real surprises started the day after Trigon was defeated.

 

The day of his defeat, the Titans had not done much. They returned to the tower, had some food, and talked a little in the living room. Raven stared out at the clear, calm blue seas with a smile on her face. Her life was, finally, hers to live. She no longer had to worry about her destiny. She no longer had to worry about losing control of her powers and becoming possessed by the darkness inside her. No, with Trigon's defeat, she had full control of her powers - and she could now express the emotions she had kept bottled up inside her for eighteen years.

 

The first day, she did not change her ways. She wore the same old blue cloak, she spoke in the same monotone voice, and she refused to laugh at Beast Boy's knock-knock jokes. (“Who's there?” “Ben.” “Ben who?” “Ben hoping for pizza for dinner.” “. . . That wasn't funny.”) However, the very next day something peculiar happened in the early morning house.

 

Raven's door opened. It was five in the morning, and sunlight was only just starting to peak up above the horizon. She looked down the hall to her left; it was empty. Then she looked to the right, and it too was empty. Raven slipped out of her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She floated just above the ground; not even taking a chance on walking for fear that, one of her friends would hear her footsteps and wake up.

 

When she arrived in the living room, Raven looked out at the sunrise. The waters around the tower were dyed a flaming gold as the sun began to float up into the sky. She smiled and basked in the warmth of the fiery orb for a moment, before continuing on her quest. She reached the living room and gently sat down on the couch, crossing her legs in front of her and making the remote float to her hand with her powers.

 

She shot another glance up the stairs to check for any sign of her friends. She saw nothing, so she turned on the television. It was still early, and the only thing on was an infomercial trying to sell a weight-loss product. She ignored it, and instead focused her attention on the remote control, and on the VCR, she had it pointed towards. Raven breathed in deeply. The tape was in there. The tape they all laughed at. The one she always ignored and called stupid.

 

The tape in question was a movie that she had forgotten the name of, starring someone famous, but she did not have a clue as to what his name was either. It was a comedy, and one of the few videos the group - most of the group - could agree to watch. It had a unusual blend of comedy, romance and action; which is why Starfire, Beast Boy, Robin and Cyborg could all agree to watch it. She had seen it a dozen times, just like the rest of the group, but she always elected to sit in the back and read while it played. She usually tried to drown the tape out of her mind and ignore it.

 

Now, though, with Trigon gone and her emotions her own she could not help but wonder if she would like it. She doubted it; after all, her taste had not changed, but she still believed it was worth a shot. Raven hesitantly turned on the tape and watched the opening credits roll.

 

She watched the show for a few minutes, and she was not impressed. It started with a man in an office building who hated his job and complained about it. Coffee was poured on his crotch by a clumsy co-worked, and she knew this was normally the part that made Beast Boy snicker stupidly.

 

In addition, suddenly, she heard a stupid snicker reach her ear. Raven's face paled (even more so than usual) and she spun around to see the green Titan leaning against the wall, snickering at the show while chewing on a piece of bacon.

Raven paused. Since when did Beast Boy eat bacon? That was strange, but right now she was so embarrassed having been caught watching the movie she claimed to hate so much, she just shut the VCR off and forgot to ask about the meaty treat in his mouth.

“Doooo-hude, you are so busted Rae!” Beast Boy chanted like a child. “I knew you liked this movie. I mean, how could you not?”

 

“I do not like this movie.” Raven replied in a serious voice.

 

“So why are you watching it at five in the morning?” Beast Boy asked with a toothy grin.

 

“Why are you eating meat?” Raven responded, raising one eyebrow and crossing her arms.

Beast Boy blinked, looked at the bacon in his hand, and shook his head. “No dude, this is tofu bacon.”

 

“Tofu bacon?” Raven echoed.

 

“Yeah, bacon made from tofu. I've been waking up early every day and replacing all of Cy's bacon with tofu bacon; and he doesn't have a clue!” Beast Boy snickered and finished munching on his tofu bacon. Then he walked over to the couch, jumped up onto the back of it, and fell down into the seat right next to Raven. “Now let's get back to you watching the movie!”

“I hate that movie.” Raven insisted.

 

“Sure, so why are you watching it?” Beast Boy asked in his usual childish manner.

 

“No reason.” Raven turned her head away from him, and she quickly put her hood up to block her face out. This caused Beast Boy's eyebrow to raise several inches on his forehead. He had a theory. He had the theory that Raven, the queen of ice (as he called her), was blushing beneath that hood. Beast Boy could not remember the last time he caught Raven blushing; and he would love to see her do it. It was like spotting a rare butterfly in your front yard, or seeing a shooting star. It did not happen often, so when it does, he had to take his chance.

Although it was quite a chance to take, since the only way he could see if she was blushing or not would be to remove her hood. Everyone knows that the one thing you never do in Titans Tower, aside from egging the T-car, was touching Raven's hood. She was not good about physical contact in the house. Once Beast Boy had accidentally hit her while playing Stinkball with Cyborg, and she had redefined the word `fear' in his vocabulary.

Therefore, Beast Boy had to weigh his options. He could drop the subject, or he could pounce on Raven and remove her hood. Safety was a small price to pay in return for catching the queen of all things gothic in a blush, so without warning Beast Boy reached up, took hold of the navy-colored hood, and yanked it off.

 

Raven's face lit up in surprise. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open a bit. Beast Boy wanted to make sure he got a good glimpse of her blushing, so he shoved his face forward. Unfortunately, (or perhaps, fortunately) Raven's anger had boiled forward. She moved towards him to yell at him, and they wound up colliding in the middle. Beast Boy bumped into Raven's face and for the briefest of seconds their lips met.

 

Then it seemed like all the world paused for a moment. It became so quiet in the room Beast Boy could hear the sweat rolling down the side of his face. His lips were touching Raven's; and that idea suddenly struck his brain very powerfully, and no longer was Raven alone in blushing.

 

However, though it seemed to last for a decade, the moment really only lasted about four seconds before Raven jumped backwards so far she wound up on the other side of the couch. Her hood was once again on her head, covering her face completely, and she seemed to be breathing heavily and clutching her chest.

 

“Rae, I didn't mean to -”

 

“Go. Just go.” Raven snapped in a dangerous voice. Beast Boy knew that voice all too well, and so he obeyed her and hopped off the couch, sprinting towards the staircase that would lead him back to the safety of his bedroom.

 

Unfortunately, he never made it. At that moment, a loud siren went off all over the tower, and red lights flashed around the room.

 

It only took a few seconds for Robin to come bursting from his door, pulling on his cape and mask as he appeared. The boy wonder ran down the hallway and jumped the stairs two at a time as he headed into the living room. He did not happen to notice the way Raven sat, face covered and body shaking, nor did he notice the deep crimson in Beast Boy's cheeks. He ran to the computer and typed on it quickly, and the large TV screen in the middle of the room flashed to a map of Jump City, with a large blinking red dot at the bank.

 

Cyborg and a sleepy Starfire had joined the group. Starfire was so tired she only had one of her purple boots on and her eyes were half closed. Cyborg looked around the room, thought he smelt bacon, but ignored it and walked up to Robin. “What's the news man?”

 

“The bank's being robbed.” Robin replied. “Titans, Go!”

 

Robin bounded out of the room, heading for the garage and his trusty R-Cycle. Starfire flew from the room out of the front door and headed towards the bank; Cyborg rounded the corner and followed Robin to the garage to enter his beloved T-Car. Beast Boy awkwardly turned to Raven, who had not moved once during the sudden commotion.

“Umm, Rae?”

 

“Just go.” She repeated, and then she stood up and vanished through a black portal in the floor. Beast Boy felt a drop of sweat roll down the back of his neck before he turned into a bird and flew out the window, heading towards the city on the other side of the bay.

 

----

 

The Local Jump City Bank

 

Joseph's life was saved all those years ago due to his mother taking him to the emergency room. He could not speak anymore, but he had mastered sign language, and he had . . . other ways to communicate, when the need arose. Joseph had done many things in his life since what happened during his childhood, and picked up many skills. His travels had taken him everywhere, all over the world. For a while, he had been a part of his mother's “Searchers Inc.” detective agency, but he stopped doing that when he realized some of the methods she employed were no better than that of the criminals they tried to catch.

 

Now Joseph's travels had taken him back to Jump City. It was early morning and he was only out on the streets at such an early hour because he had nowhere to go. He had heard of the famous Teen Titans who lived here, and he wondered if they would take a chance on him. They were the reason he came. He wore a purple V-shaped vest with a white undershirt, and simple black pants. Joseph's blonde hair was curly and short, and his eyes were wide and black. He walked along happily, on his way to find the Teen Titans.

 

Then, as he was walking by the local bank, Joseph noticed something strange. A blue-skinned man in a magician's outfit was walking into the front door of the bank, waving a magic wand around. The sight of this intrigued Joseph, since this seemed rather strange. He approached the glass door of the bank and stepped inside; once inside the magician turned around and aimed his wand at the blonde teen.

 

“So, ho, ho, we have another guest for the show!” He grinned and waved his wand, before Joseph realized what had happened; thick red ropes shot out and bound him by the wrists and ankles. He fell with a thud and landed on the hard concrete of the bank floor. His nose began to bleed a bit, and it did not help that the magician waved his wand again and Joseph flew into the wall, next to the tied-up security guard and a few helpless bank hostages.

 

“Well, it's been a pleasure performing for you all this evening.” The magician said as he waved his wand and the vault door sprang open. Several bills jumped off the shelves and flew at the magician, who took off his top hat and watched the money fly inside and disappear. “But I must be off now; I have a gig at the jewelry store across town!”

 

The magician put his hat back on and turned towards the door; but there was someone standing in the doorway. Five people, actually; it was the Teen Titans. Robin stepped forward holding his bo-staff.

 

“Sorry Mumbo, the show's been cancelled.” Robin announced.

 

“Ah, it is my second-biggest-fans!” Mumbo cackled. He waved his wand and a small portal fan that had been sitting on the bank teller's desk suddenly grew to mammoth size and began blowing at the titans with hurricane force winds. “Meet my biggest fan!” Mumbo threw his head back in laughter at his bad pun.

 

Robin was lifted off his feet and blown backwards; he flew back a few feet and landed against Cyborg's chest. Cyborg was too heavy for Mumbo's giant fan to move, so he acted as a weight for the others. Beast Boy, who had now transformed into a monkey, had his tail wrapped around one of Cyborg's legs and was being blown in the wind.

Starfire threw a starbolt at the fan; but the wind was so strong it blew it right back at her. She squeaked as it hit her in the chest and she went flying through the air.

 

“Starfire!” Robin called out in concern.

 

“I got `er!” Beast Boy yelled as he briefly became human again, only to turn into an octopus a moment later. He held onto Cyborg with one of his tentacles, and grabbed Starfire's bare foot with another.

“You'll never beat my G-force winds titans!” Mumbo boldly declared. He forgot that Raven could phase right through the ground and come up again behind him; which is exactly what she did. A moment later, the fan was illuminated with black light, and all of the screws fell out and the blades fell harmlessly to the ground.

 

“Oh crud.” Mumbo sighed as he turned to see his fan deactivated. He flicked his wand at Raven and red ropes jumped from the end of it and tied her at the legs, arms and across her mouth. She had been in the middle of her mantra, “Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.” When the ropes tied her, and he spell was never finished.

 

“Forgetting something Mumbo?” Cyborg grinned as he charged his arm-cannon. Mumbo sweatdropped and spun around, whipping his hat off his head as he did so; when Cyborg fired the blast Mumbo let it fly into his hat, then he put the hat back on his head.

 

“Nice try, nice try, but the hat makes it all vanish! Now how about I show you that famous rabbit trick, eh?” Mumbo grinned and tapped his hat with his wand. A small, white rabbit fell out of his hat and landed on the ground.

 

“Aww, it's kinda cute.” Beast Boy, who loved animals, grinned.

 

The rabbit suddenly grew thrice as large as it was when Mumbo dumped it from his hat, and it grew gigantic fangs and claws. Its fur also peeled away to reveal what looked like crocodile scales.

“This is my scaly bunny!” Mumbo laughed.

 

“Okay, forget the cute thing.” Beast Boy chuckled nervously. The giant angry rabbit-crocodile hybrid jumped right at the green teen, barring its razor-sharp teeth. Cyborg stepped forward and punched it in the mouth with one of his metal fists; but the scaly bunny decided to take a bite out of that. Cyborg screamed when he realized his hand had just been bitten off.

 

“OI! GIVE THAT BACK!” Cyborg shouted, and the bunny obeyed; in a way. It spit the metallic hand out and it wound up hitting Cyborg in the forehead, causing him to fall backwards.

 

Robin was just jumping up with his bo-staff, ready to knock the scaly bunny down, when Cyborg happened to fall right on his cape. Robin was jerked backwards as his cape caught under the metal titan and he wound up landing on his back painfully, staring up at the ceiling . . . and the scaly bunny's rows of razor sharp teeth.

 

The rabbit moved to bite Robin, but suddenly it screamed out as it was bit itself. It turned around to see a green crocodile with its teeth sunk down into the scaly bunny's scaly tail. It roared at Beast Boy, who turned back into his teenage self.

 

“Dude, nasty; I hate meat.” Beast Boy complained as he spit on the floor.

 

“My scaly bunny doesn't!” Mumbo laughed. The scaly rabbit jumped at Beast Boy, knocking him down with one of its massive scaly paws. Beast Boy grunted as his purple suit was cut right down the middle and blood began to ooze out. A moment later Starfire slammed into the side of the scaly rabbit, sending it flying across the room. It smashed into a wall and made a hissing noise, like an angry crocodile.

 

Joseph had seen enough. He began to thrash around against his ropes and kick his feet into the floor. Eventually Mumbo turned to him in aggravation from all the sound he was making.

 

“Would you pipe down and let me enjoy this?” Mumbo growled. Joseph grinned as his eyes made contact with Mumbo's masked ones. It was only a brief second, but that was all Joseph needed.

 

Suddenly, Mumbo was no longer in full control of his body. The magician thrashed around violently as he fought to regain control from Joseph; but the blonde boy didn't make things easy on him. One of Mumbo's legs was raised high in the air, and the hand holding the wand dropped it and began to make obscene gestures towards its owner.

 

The Titans all paused from where they were and watched Mumbo's strange behavior. Robin had been untangling his cape from Cyborg's foot, and Cyborg had been trying (and failing) to help him. Beast Boy, meanwhile, had been freeing Raven from the red ropes that had her all bound up.

 

Starfire was still wrestling with the scaly bunny, and only she did not notice Mumbo's odd behavior.

 

Mumbo's hand that had been flipping the magician off suddenly stopped, and it began to make new hand gestures. This time they were less rude, and they were aimed at the Titans. Robin, who had briefly studied sign language while in Gotham, recognized the ability immediately; as did Raven, who also knew the skill. The others merely scratched their heads in confusion.

 

Raven decided to do what the sign language said; which was a simple request. “Kick his ass” was the message coming across. Therefore, Raven used her powers to whip the hat off Mumbo's head. She quickly picked up Mumbo's wand with her powers and hurled it inside the hat, and then she levitated the hat across the room and dropped it on the scaly bunny. Like magic, the crocodile-rabbit was sucked into the hat and vanished. Raven quickly ran across the room and picked the hat up.

Mumbo gulped. “Now, now, we can talk about this like gentlemen, right?” He asked nervously.

 

“No.” Cyborg replied, and then he punched Mumbo in the stomach with such tremendous force that the magician passed out.

With Mumbo down, and his evil scaly bunny defeated, the Titans regrouped in the center of the room. Beast Boy was the first to vocalize the question they were all wondering.

“What made Mumbo go all freaky?”

 

“His behavior was most strange.” Starfire agreed.

 

“We'll figure it out after we free these hostages.” Robin decided. He and Starfire disappeared behind the teller's table to untie the teller and the other bank employees. Cyborg stayed in the middle of the room to guard Mumbo, in case he should wake up. Beast Boy and Raven headed down to the opposite side of the room. Beast Boy began untying the security guard, while Raven went to help Joseph.

 

As soon as the ropes fell off Joseph's hands, he lifted them and made the sign for “thank you”. Raven raised an eyebrow.

 

“Somehow I doubt that's a coincidence.” She muttered to herself. Joseph nodded and grinned.

 

“Huh? What is?” Beast Boy asked. He looked at Joseph. “What's up with him?”

 

“I think . . . he's the reason Mumbo acted so strangely.” Raven deduced. Joseph nodded his head in rapid secession, impressed that she had figured it out so quickly. Beast Boy blinked.

 

“Dude, you did that? Sweet.” Beast Boy raised a hand to give the blonde boy a high five, and Joseph eagerly accepted the offer.

 

“Name's Beast Boy, that's Raven.” Beast Boy did the introductions, and then he smiled. “But I bet you already knew who we are; we're pretty famous.”

“Be careful Beast Boy, your ego is inflating.” Raven warned him in a half-teasing tone.

Joseph could feel the friendship between the two teammates and it made his smile grow even bigger. He had traveled a long way in hopes of finding and joining the Teen Titans. Perhaps his display of powers would help him get the job he so desperately wanted. Then, perhaps, he would have friends like that.

 

Joseph decided it was time he spoke to them; of course he could not speak, which presented a problem. Nonetheless, he had a solution. He looked over at the unconscious Mumbo and walked towards the body, motioning with a hand for Raven and Beast Boy to follow him. They did so, both slightly confused.

A moment later, Joseph possessed Mumbo's body. The Titans blinked at what they had just seen, and Mumbo sat up from the ground. This had attracted Robin and Starfire's attention, and both of them had joined Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy around Mumbo.

 

“My name is Joseph.” Joseph said using Mumbo's body. “It's very good to meet you all - I wanted to, while I was in town.”

 

“Whoa, how are you, what are you doing!?” Beast Boy cried out.

 

“It is . . . complicated to explain.” Joseph replied, still in Mumbo's voice. “I'm a mute, you see. I can't talk; but I'm also quite gifted. I have advanced spiritual powers. Actually, that's why I came to the city. It's embarrassing to say, but I've heard of all of you, and . . . well, for a long time I've wanted to do something worthwhile with myself, so I thought, Joseph, why don't you go see if you can help those Titans? And . . . so here I am. Ah, I'm sorry, I can't keep this up too long.”

A moment later, Mumbo fell back onto the ground, unconscious still; and Joseph was once again Joseph.

 

“Whoa. That's impressive.” Cyborg said.

 

“Joseph, was it?” Robin asked; Joseph nodded silently. “Let me see if I get this right . . . you want to, join the Titans?”

 

Joseph nodded again.

 

Robin looked uneasy. “You understand that's not something we can just decide. We have to test you first, and more importantly, we have to get to know you.”

 

Joseph nodded. He then said, in sign language I understand.

 

Robin looked around at the group. “Well . . . what do you think?”

 

“I don't know.” Beast Boy bit his lip. “I mean, I think we should be careful who we let be a Titan.”

There was no need to ask what he was referring too. It had been the former sixth titan, Terra, who had nearly caused the downfall of the team when she teamed up with Slade. Not only had she betrayed her friends, she had broken Beast Boy's heart, and taught him a lesson about trusting strangers.

 

“It can't hurt just to get to know the guy.” Cyborg shrugged.

 

Raven looked at Joseph, and Joseph looked back to her. Joseph bit his lip, he knew it was a bad idea since he had no clue how she would react, but Joseph let his eyes meet with hers. As their eyes connected, Raven suddenly felt a presence inside her body. Her eyes widened and she tore them away from Joseph and she quickly put her hood on. The other Titans all seemed too busy discussing Joseph to notice this - except for Beast Boy.

He saw Raven blush furiously just before she raised her hood. He looked over at Joseph, and while he had no clue what had just happened, he suddenly felt a twinge of jealously spike up inside him.

 

Joseph snickered silently at what he had just done.

 

Outside the bank, a man walked by going down the street. His presence there was not just coincidence. He had come because he knew the Titans had come. Originally, it had been his intention to confront the Titans with his latest scheme; but the moment he saw the blonde-haired Joseph, he had froze in his tracks.

 

It had been years since he had last saw Joseph, but he recognized the boy in a heartbeat. There was no mistaking him.

 

“Joseph, no.” The man whispered to himself. “Is this really the reunion we're to have; with you becoming a Titan?”

The man shook his head. He was dressed in a dark trenchcoat and had a hat pulled down over his face, masking the left half of it in shadows. The left half was the half that had no eye, which is why he hid the eye-patch behind the hat. His only eye, the right one, was staring at Joseph through the glass door of the bank.

 

Slade sighed and decided not to reunite with the Titans quite yet; not while his son was with them.

Unfortunately, Slade was only one of two fathers watching his child in that bank; and the second was even more dangerous than he was.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

A/N: There you have it; chapter one!

As I said before, this is only based on the Jericho storyline from the comics, many things have been changed.

Also, while it is in the end a BB/Rae story, the majority of it will be a BB/Rae/Jeri love triangle. They'll be some straight up Rob/Star thrown in for flavor, and lots of action with everyone's favorite villain, Slade.

And yes, in the comics, Slade is Jericho's father. I did not make that up.

The main reason I'm writing this is because it looks like Jericho will be appearing in the fifth season of Teen Titans, according to the latest rumors, and I thought it would be fun to do my own version of his storyline before the show actually does it. Anyway . . . reviews would be awesome. I love reviews; if you give them to me, I'll update fast.

Also, I'll be updating AFY and TYL very soon, so if you've been reading those, expect new chapters ASAP.

 

Thanks for reading; you rock!
- GS (Brandon)