(Chapter 3: An Old Friend)

I am terribly sorry for the long wait, guys! But I'll admit that I have been lazy, uninspired and unmotivated; and you guys deserve better than that. So I hope you guys enjoy!

Terra stared at the figure before her in total shock, while her team-mates regarded him with confusion and curiosity.

He was a tall, well-built young man who appeared to be about sixteen or so. He had brown eyes and his jet-black hair was spiked forwards (AN. Think Robin's hair when he went incognito in 'Trouble in Tokyo').

He was dressed in an orange T-shirt, worn blue jeans and heavy hiking boots with spiked soles. A large hiker's backpack was slung on his back with a Pringles can in the water-bottle pouch. At his hip, a water-bottle was hung from one of his belt-loops by a carabiner.

Terra took a few hesitant steps forward, still in shock. Then, she seemed to find her voice. "Zach? Is that...really you?" The stranger grinned and gave her a dramatic bow. "Zach Halls, in the flesh and at your service, milady."

Raven, being an empath, could tell that Terra's emotions were going on a roller-coaster ride right now. She sensed shock, relief, pain...guilt? But then all of them were overwhelmed by a flood of pure joy.

The other Titans were surprised when their geokinetic partner threw her arms around Zach in a tight hug. He returned it eagerly, a large, contented smile on his face. Beast Boy felt a pang of jealousy in his gut. Who was this guy? How did he and Terra know each-other? He felt his protective instincts start to kick in, but he suppressed them...for now.

Terra was still in a state of shock as she pulled back from her hug. "How? I...I thought that you were…." She couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.

"You honestly think that I would go that easily? I'm hurt, T" he fake-pouted. "But that day!" Terra went on, as if she were talking to herself. "The house-". "Terra," he said gently, but firmly to get her attention. "I'm fine. See?"

Raven could feel a spike of guilt come off him when he said that, but decided not to say anything. As far as she could tell, he meant them no harm. Still, one couldn't be too careful.

At that moment Robin gave a polite cough to get Terra's attention. The blond turned to her team-mates. "Oh, sorry! Guys, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

She tugged her old friend towards her new ones. "Zach, meet the one and only Teen Titans! The greatest crime fighters ever! Guys, this is Zach Halls. He's an old friend from my roaming days." The Titans stepped forward and introduced themselves.

"I'm Robin, pleasure to meet you" the leader of the Titans said as he shook hands with Zach. The new-comer responded with a firm handshake and a small grin. "The pleasure is all mine."

Cyborg gave him a wave before shaking his hand. "Yo! Names Cyborg, but you can call me Cy. Any friend of Rock-N-Roll is a friend of mine." Zach returned the handshake with a smirk. "'Rock-N-Roll' huh? I'll have to remember that one."

Starfire, too excited to settle for a simple handshake, hovered close to her new acquaintance. "Curiosity abounds. Tell me, where do you come from how did you get here what is your favorite color do you wish to be my friend?" Terra giggled at both the familiarity of the situation and her friend's obvious bewilderment.

"Uh..." Zach responded before deciphering the alien's fast-passed questions and thinking of answers. "Texas, hiking and hitch-hiking, I never really settled on one, and of-course."

He almost regretted his final answer because he was immediately engulfed in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh how truly glorious it is to make a new friend!" the alien princess cheered. Zach managed to speak through his pained smile. "The pressure is all spine. I mean 'mine'! The pleasure is all mine." Terra giggled again as her friend popped his vertebra back into place once he was free from his new friend's grip.

Raven simply said "Raven" and nodded in greeting. Zach realized the she must be more of a withdrawn type of person, and nodded back.

Finally, Zach and Terra stood in front of Beast Boy. "Zach, this is Beast Boy. Beast Boy, Zach." The green shape-shifter and athletic hiker shook hands, Beast Boy still getting an uneasy feeling in the back of his mind. Zach, for his part, gave the changeling a hearty grin.

"Good to meet you, Beast" he greeted easily. Beast Boy pushed his uneasy feelings to the back of his mind, and smiled at the older boy. "Dude, right back at ya!" Terra seemed to shift a bit nervously before adding "And he's also kinda...sorta...my boyfriend."

Zach's eyes widened a bit in surprise before narrowing slightly. "Oh really, now?" Beast Boy grew nervous under his gaze, wondering what he had done wrong.

Terra spoke again, seeming to expect this to happen. "Don't worry. He's been a perfect gentleman. Well, maybe not 'perfect', but he's been good to me." Zach's expression softened at that, his relaxed smile returning. "Good to know." Beast Boy's instincts were telling him that Zach might not be a good guy to have on your bad side.

Terra addressed her old friend again. "What are you doing here?!" she asked, sounding a bit incredulous. "I came to visit you, of course. I mean, sure, I'm more than a little overdue for that, but I came as soon as I could. Honest!"

Terra raised an eye-brow. "On foot?" Zach looked sheepishly at her. "Planes and buses were too expensive?" he explained hopefully. Terra shook her head fondly. "So why did it take so long to get you to come visit." Zach chewed the inside of his cheek and he mulled over how to respond. "I was...recovering." Terra's eyes widened in shock. "Oh Zach! I'm so sor-!" "Hey now, T! You don't have to say anything. I assure you that I am completely and totally fine."

His gallant reassurance was abruptly interrupted by a loud growling emanating from the speaker's stomach. The owner of said offending organ looked down in annoyance.

"Hey down there! What have I told you about interrupting me when I'm talking, huh? You just ruined my first impression with world-renowned super heroes, thank you very much!" He then realized that he was still in the presence of said heroes, who were looking at him in with perplexed expressions. He chuckled a bit. "Sorry. I tend to get a little loopy when I'm hungry."

Terra, who knew that he would only act like this if he was starving, crossed her arms and arched an eye-brow. "Zach." Her voice was quiet, but held a slightly stern edge to it. "When was the last time you ate?"

Zach took a breath to respond before Terra cut him off. "And energy bars and snack food doesn't count!" He released his breath in defeat before answering "I had a small cheeseburger yesterday afternoon."

Terra's eyes widened in alarm. No one with Zach's particular skill/hobby should ever go that long without a proper meal. Brow furrowed in determination, she walked over to Zach, grabbed him by the hand and led him to T-Car.

She turned her head to face her leader, never once loosing her determined expression, and spoke three short sentences.

"Robin. Pizza place. Now."

I'm going to go ahead and give this one tinny spoiler: Zach is not, nor will he ever be, a bad guy. BB is just being jealous and paranoid. We'll get to learn more about him as a person in the next chapter. Let me know what you guys think of him so far.

I'm not too good with last names, so Halls just stuck for some reason. Sorry.

Please feel free to Review. It let's me know that people are actually reading this, which gives me motivation to write. This story will be written a bit slow since I don't have too many specific scenes planed out yet, so bear with me.

You guys are awesome! See you later, Same Elite Warrior time, Same Elite Warrior channel! :D