CHAPTER 2

Terra smiled as she brushed the dust off of her gloves and looked down at the squashed scorpion that was once so eager to turn her into its breakfast. Out of the corner of her eye, she also spotted a group of teenagers who had just witnessed her display of strength and bravery. To top it all off, it wasn't just any group of teenagers, but the legendary Teen Titans themselves...

'No way,' thought Terra, who was a little star stuck at this stroke of events. 'I've gotta go introduce myself.'

With very little effort, Terra summoned a boulder from beneath her to rise up and carry her up onto the ledge where the Titans stood. Terra's eyes then panned over the infamous group of super teens who were still rendered speechless.

"What?" she asked confidently. "Haven't you guys ever seen a superhero before?"

The others continued to stare at Terra blankly for a few seconds before Robin finally stepped forward to break the silence. "I'm Robin," he greeted, holding out his hand for a handshake. "We're the…"

"…Teen Titans!" finished Terra, tapping her fists against Robin's. "Rock on! It's cool to meet you guys. I'm Terra, and you're…Cyborg, Raven, Starfire…and…"

"Boy Beast!" screamed Beast Boy, clearly over excited. "…Uh, I mean, Bass Boot! No!"

"…Beast Boy?" replied Terra, smirking just a little. 'He may be green and goofy,' she thought. 'But he's also kind of cute.' Beast Boy meanwhile squealed and morphed into a turtle and tucked his head and limbs inside his shell.

"Dude! He's hilarious!" laughed Terra.

"Hilarious? Me? Really?"

Terra winked and Beast Boy morphed back into his human form. He then swooned and collapsed to the ground.

"Curiosity abounds," said Starfire, floating over to her. "Please. Where do you come from; how did you get here; what is your favorite color; do you wish to be my friend?"

Terra blinked. Not only had the alien girl rattled off her series of questions in rapid fire mode, but she was also now looming over her. 'She's obviously not a big fan of personal space,' she thought. "Um…" Terra voiced out loud. "Earth…walked…red…and…sure."

"Hello, new friend!" squealed Starfire, gripping Terra into one of her famous bone-crushing bear hugs. "How's it going?" replied Terra breathlessly, then struggled to compose herself after she was released, all the while a certain green (or brown if you counted the blush now on his face) shift shaper was eyeing her…

"So, what brings such a cool little chickie to our big groovy city, huh?"

Terra shrugged indifferently. "I go where the wind takes me, you know? I get to see new places, meet new people, stomp a few bad guys here and there."

"Cool!" laughed Beast Boy.

Raven, who hadn't uttered a word from the moment Terra was introduced to the team, frowned deeply. It was pretty obvious to anyone watching that her green teammate was hit at full force by the proverbial thunderbolt. Terra could have told him something as ridiculous that she owned the moon, and Beast Boy still would've been impressed. However, Raven also couldn't help but notice all of the emotions that were radiating from the petite blonde. Despite her effort to try and appear cool and confident, Terra really seemed insecure and a bit nervous. It was also almost like something about her was just a little bit…off… She then glanced over at Robin, who seemed to share her sentiments. "You mean you don't have a home?" asked Robin.

Raven looked on intently for Terra's response. Robin's question clearly struck a nerve since she felt the geomancer inwardly cringed, though Terra also made sure not to convey how much the truth of the matter really bothered her on her face. "The Earth is my home," she responded casually and with a smile. "I've been crashing in a cave on the other side of the hill."

"Unacceptable!" cried Starfire. "I cannot permit my new friend to slumber in a lonely cave of darkness."

"I have a flashlight," said Terra, just as Starfire grabbed her by the arm. "You will stay with us," asserted the Tamaranian, dragging her away.

"Really, I-I'm…"

"Come on, we got plenty of room," said Cyborg. "Yeah!" Beast Boy agreed. "And I can make you laugh some more. I'm hilarious, remember?"

Terra laughed and caved in. "Well, I guess I could stay one night…"

Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire could hardly contain their enthusiasm. They all cheered and promptly began to lead Terra towards the T-Car. Raven remained in place, as she couldn't get over how easily Terra conveyed one emotion to the team while clearly feeling another. She then realized that Robin was still over by the edge of the canyon where they had first met Terra, and he was knelling down to examine some of its dirt.

"Everything okay?"

"Not sure," he murmured as he let the dirt fall from his hand and back onto the ground. "Something just doesn't feel right." He then stood up and began to walk off behind the others and Raven, who smiled to herself, followed suit.

'What a relief that not everyone is bowled over by this girl.'

"Why would they not be?" asked Raven's affection. "She seems nice."

'Sure she seems nice, but we just met her for Azar's sake! Still, I guess Robin sees some benefit in having her around since he didn't oppose the others' demand that she stay with us for the night, so if he's willing to welcome her into our home, I'll have no choice but to do so as well…'

Raven and Robin finally joined up with the others who were filing into the T-Car. As usual, Cyborg got behind the wheel and Robin took his place in the front passenger seat. Terra and Beast Boy had already begun to climb into the backseat when Starfire gasped.

"We are short one seat!"

All of the Titans inside of the T-Car minus Cyborg turned to look at the backseat in question. "Oh, right," laughed Beast Boy sheepishly. "Guess we never considered having room for more than five of us at a time in here. You and Raven guess will have to draw straws, for the last seat, Star."

"You're not the only one that can fly back to the Tower," retorted Raven coolly.

Beast Boy laughed nervously again. Cyborg however just grinned.

"Now, now. There's no need for all that. I've been saving this for a special occasion, but I guess now's a good time as any. Watch this."

He then flipped a switch on the dashboard and the others looked on in shock as the rear of the T-Car quickly elongated and changed so that there was a secondary row of seats behind Terra and Beast Boy. Starfire giggled and clapped while Beast Boy and Terra laughed. Even Robin had to smile at Cyborg's quick thinking.

"Nice work, Cyborg," the Boy Wonder praised. "Way to think ahead."

Cyborg just beamed and turned to point at a lever near the bottom of the first row of seats. "Just pull down on that to recline this seat and to get to the back row."

Starfire and Raven nodded. Starfire then pressed the lever, and the seat closest to the rear passenger door reclined just enough to allow entry to the back row. She gestured for Raven to board first and after a polite nod, Raven climbed in. Once she was settled, Starfire pushed the seat back up and climbed into the T-Car next to Terra.

"We are all on the board!" she smiled, closing the door.

"Then let's roll!" cried Cyborg, revving up the engine and driving off into the direction of Jump City.