Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, but I do watch the show.

Chapter 2 Feels Like Home

"AHHHH!"

Zaith had woken up from another nightmare, one of many he had been getting for years.

He moved the blankets and quickly got out of bed, then rushed to the small bathroom. Flipping the switch and turning on the light to the bathroom, he found the sink and turned on the faucet. He run his hands in the running water, then placed his soaked hands on his face.

After about ten minuets, he left the bathroom, then walked over to the curtains. He moved one of the vertical blinds, and found that was well past sunrise. He checked the digital clock on the night stand, and found that it was 11:30am.

Quickly, he changed into his cloths (which smelt much better after the shower he had the night before) and rushed downstairs. Cyborg and Beast Boy were playing another one of they're racing games on the Game Station, but there was no one else there at the moment.

Suddenly, Cyborg yelled loudly, obviously happy on his new victory.

"Yeah, who's the man?! I'm the man! you can't touch this!"

"Uhh, sorry to interrupt your victory dance, but where are the others?"

"Oh Zaith your finally up." Beast Boy said. "You want some tofu?"

"No, but thanks for the offer. Anyway, back to my question."

"Right. Let's see now…" Cyborg said, as if trying to remember what my question was. "Oh yeah, Star Fire and Robin went to the mall earlier. As for Raven, she's probably on the roof meditating."

"Thanks."

"No problem, man."

And with that, Zaith walked up the stairs, all the way to the roof. Once on the roof, he found Raven meditating, just as Cyborg said. He stepped forward, and quietly sat down next to Raven. She didn't seem to notice that he was there and continued her strange chant.

After about 5 minuets of hearing it, he decided to meditate himself. He did, just the more he sat there, the more he thought, about his dream. His thoughts continued to bother him, until he heard Raven Speak.

"Are you alright?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well you making strange faces and from the looks of things, your not to happy."

"Let's just say things could be better."

"Mind telling me about it."

"You probably won't want to hear it. I mean it's nothing special."

"I've listened to worse things."

"Alright," Said Zaith Reluctantly. "As I said before, I'm homeless. My parents died when I was nine, eight years ago. It was pretty depressing, but I managed. But the thing was, I didn't know anything about taxes and laws, or anything important like that back then. So all the money I got from life insurance and what not weren't used wisely. I spent money on stupid things at first, and I was kinda happy. But soon, money was looking too good, and bills kept coming in. Eventually, I decided to leave, maybe to find something important, something better."

"Did you ever find it?"

"In a sense yes. And no. While I was only nine, I didn't know how to defend myself. A bunch of people tried to hurt me, and the only thing I could do was run. But soon I got tired, and the little money I had left was gone. I felt bad, no food, and no shelter. Nothing. Then one day, a man comes up to me and offers a hand. I take it gladly, and he took me to where he lived. I ate, showered, and had a place to sleep. I was feeling good. The man's name, I never learned. He was killed by some thugs a couple of days later. But he did show me where he worked. He ran a martial arts dojo, and that's where I picked up basic judo. I didn't learn it by heart, but it sent me on the right track."

"That can't be it." Raven said, almost disappointed to hear that Zaith had stopped speaking.

"Of course not. When I heard of the mans death, I ran away, scared something might happen to me. Eventually I found an old abandoned warehouse. The place was stocked with old canned food, lots of it. It was home for a few years, and while I was there, I practiced my judo, and eventually picked up on a couple of creative moves of my own. The food only lasted until I was thirteen though, so when I ran out of food, I wandered again. But of course things kept changing for me. I kept going north for some reason, and when I reach the Jersey shore, I got my first real fight. Just a couple of street punks threatening an old lady, but I managed to deal with them and save her. She got me some new clothes and such as payment for helping me. She said she owned a clothing store so I knew it couldn't have been wrong for me to take them. She also handed me my sword. She said it used to be her husband's grandfather's sword. I tried to say I didn't want it, but she said that it would be better in my hands then hers. Ever since then, I've been fighting crime and helping people."

"That wasn't so bad, especially considering how you turned out." Raven said.

"Yeah, well there's more. Back since before I was born, my father was in the army. I was born in Georgia, but I don't remember a thing from there. The first things I remember were in Germany. When I was 3, my parents moved to Fort Richie, Maryland. When I was 5, we moved to France, the when I was 9 we moved to Virginia. Now that doesn't sound too bad, but when you're leaving all the friends you've had while you were in one place over and over again…"

Tears began to slowly creep their way from Zaith's eyes, and the more emotional side of him was visible. Three tears trailed the left side of his face, falling like glistening streams.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright. This is something I've been unable to do for a while."

Another tear began its way down Zaith cheeks, leaving its moist residue where it went. What almost seemed like an instinct or a thoughtless response, Raven raised her hand and gently brushed the tear from his cheek. Zaith faced her after she had done so, with a slight tint of red on him.

"…" He tried to say something, anything. Yet the words did not come. He quickly dried his eyes, clearing his face of the remains of the tears.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Raven began to speak, obviously embarrassed for touching Zaith's face.

"No, it's alright. I haven't had anyone to take care of me for a long time, so I was a little startled by it." Zaith tried to sound as sincere as possible. "It's my fault anyway, I shouldn't have been crying in the first place."

"It's alright. Sometimes, I've felt like crying to."

"Thanks… I needed to get that out of my system."

"Listen, I know this may sound stupid, but you know how I always say that chant?"

"Yeah?"

"Try saying it when you meditate, it should give you a comfortable solace."

"Thanks, I'll have to try it sometime."

Just then, the door slammed, and the others, including Robin and Star Fire, come onto the roof.

"Yo, Zaith, wanna play some v-ball? Beast Boy said as he tossed a volleyball up in the air towards Zaith.

"Sure." He said as he caught the ball. Zaith stood up, and walked over to where the others were. "Where the net?"

"Right here," Said Beast Boy as he touched a small panel next to the door. Suddenly, the floor shifted itself and a Volleyball court emerged from the floor.

"Whoa…"

"Ready to get your game on?" Said Cyborg.

"I think you should all play against me, I mean I'm probably the strongest guy here."

"Yeah we'll see." Said Robin. "Hey Raven, wanna play?"

Raven turned around and faced the others. She first noticed Cyborg and Beast Boy, then thought she might not want to. But with a new friend around, maybe she should. And something about Zaith's body just made her want to jump on him.

"Alright." Raven said calmly.

And so the was played. Zaith was paired off with the ladies, and the guys were by themselves. Unfortunately, they should have listened to Zaith earlier. Not only is Star Fire and over powered girl, and a valuable power hitter, but Zaith is quite strong for his size as well. That alone would make quite the team, but with Raven as well, they would become a deadly force. The Final score… 63-0 in favor of Zaith, Star Fire, and Raven.

"Man that was not fun." Complained the green one.

"Hey you're the ones that didn't choose me." Zaith said.

"Yeah, whatever." Said Cyborg, feeling worn and beaten.

"You know, this is already starting to feel like home." Said Zaith.

Just then, the red sirens went off again. Another overpowered criminal was on the loose.

"Who is it this time?!" Said Beast Boy in annoyance.

Robin hurried over to the small panel and found it saying a name bold in red. "It's Cinderblock."