i don't own Jericho. or the teen titans.

this is a newer version

~Jericho~

Jericho had always been in the background. Much like his mountains in Tibet. Always in the background, adding depth and mystery to picture. A mere sketch on the canvas on life. Never the center of focus but always there…always waiting. Waiting for someone to need help.

Jericho always loved to help others. No matter the problem, big, small, seemingly impossible. Jericho always helped. He enjoyed feeling needed. But he always knows that once his help is no longer required that he will fade once more into the background. Being in the background provided him with peace.

Peace…the very reason he ran away from home, the reason he settled in the mountains of Tibet. Calmness, peacefulness, tranquility, the things he sought that mirrored his very soul. The things he cherished most that he hadn't known as a child. Of all the things he lacked as a child peace is what he had lacked the most of.

Before Jericho became mute he was almost the typical little boy. Joseph William Wilson was sweeter than most, gentler, and wouldn't hurt anything or anyone if there was a peaceful solution. He was a piano prodigy and an amazing vocalist in his youth chorus. He had everything a child could wish for, except a peaceful life. Every day his obnoxious older brother Grant was pushing him around, bullying him, and embarrassing him. Every night while his father was gone his mother would pace uneasily through the house. Back and forth and back and forth. Joey never understood why.

Life was hectic but bearable for Joey until Slade would come home, those were the time Joseph wished that it was just Grant being a jerk to him. His parents constant fighting always gave Joey headaches, kept him up at night, and honestly terrified him. He just wanted peace. He had always wanted peace. At night he prayed for peace begged for peace but the peace never came. All of the fighting, all of the harsh words and that was before they knew the truth.

He was eight, it was midsummer, a noise outside his bedroom had awoken him. As Joey reached for the door it swung open and a man grabbed him. Joey screamed and shouting from his parents ensued. A bargain is what the "boss man" wanted. Information in exchanged for Joey…alive. Joey never thought his father would betray him but he did. In the end it was Joey who paid the price for his father's insolence.

It was in the moment as the knife was raked across Joey's throat that he saw his father for who he was. A liar, a traitor, a fraud, a mercenary, a murderer. That was the moment that "Daddy" became "Slade." He would never be a father in Joey's eyes…never again. It didn't matter that he saved Joey's life; if it hadn't been for Slade Wilson, Joseph would never have been in danger to begin with.

After the accident, nothing was the same. Instead of just divorcing Slade, Adeline tried to kill him for gambling their son's life. However her aim was slightly off…she only managed to blind his right eye. Joey didn't agree with either of his parents. Slade was ruthless and incompetent while his mother, Adeline, was vengeful and violent. Life remained anything but peaceful for Joseph.

After her failed attempt to kill Slade, Adeline took her sons and left. All contact with Slade was terminated and to Joey, Slade became a horrible reminder that no one can be trusted…not even family. Adeline refrained from even mentioning Slade's name around her sons as the years past but she didn't succeed in making Grant cut all ties with his father. Grant ran away from home and joined his father in the mercenary trade.

Joey hated his brother for the pain he caused their mother. He hated Grant as much as he hated Slade. Joseph loathed their very existence, and yet he still cried when news of Grant's death reach them. He felt like a part of him had been pulled away and torn to shreds. Joey always wondered to himself Why couldn't if have been Slade?

Eventually life returned to a somewhat normal fashion for Joey, but have been rendered mute, Joseph had problems communicating with others. He used hand gestures and wrote notes to talk to his friends until he learned American Sign Language. Life was never really normal for him. It wasn't until Joey turned eleven that he discovered his powers of possession. It was an intentional accident. A mercenary was about to assassinate his mother. Joey tried to shout a warning to her but couldn't. He starred the assailant down until their eyes met and Joey suddenly found himself inside the man's body. After that Joey was paranoid and scarred of his powers. He avoided using them, and eventually he ran away from home.

He traveled near and far in silence. He even learned to play the guitar to keep himself from going insane. He remained a gentle creature; kind, generous, and utterly alone. He wandered up into the mountains of Tibet. At last he had found what he had longed for so much…peace. Joey was surrounded by nature, tranquility, and peace.

No matter how much he tried, the walls of his defenses were crumbling, breaking. He was a shattered, fallen, and forgotten soul. The state of his psych reminded him of a long forgotten city, from a story his mother had once told him. The city of Jericho, it's walls had been broken and they tumbled and the city had been left in ruins. Yet, even though the city was left in ruins it had still survived, just like his mind, his soul. He was broken, shattered, alone, empty and yet he was still alive. It was due to the similarities between his soul and the story of the great city that he took the name Jericho when he became an Honorary Titan.

what do you think?