Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. However, I do own Misty/Naturess.

Chapter 3: Armageddon…Again

After a tour of Titan's Tower led by Starfire, Naturess was amazed. She was astounded at all the technology present, but the homey feel the tower had. She would look at the team members and saw so many bonds.

Robin and Starfire had something very special- the bond of love and companionship. Cyborg and Beast Boy shared a bond of immense friendship and understanding. Raven and Beast Boy were unwittingly tied together by unspoken feelings and tied up emotions. Naturess could feel a great conflict within Raven's mind. She was thinking of…betrayal?

Before Naturess could get a feel for all the emotions that the Titans were inadvertently releasing, Starfire called her name.

"Let us go into the main room now, please," Starfire said to her new friend. Naturess followed her into the kitchen area.

The Teen Titans and Naturess settled down at the kitchen table, ready and waiting for Raven's explanation. Naturess wanted to know what Raven knew, so she stayed quiet as Raven began to speak, knowledge mixing with her normal monotone.

"The Protector is famed in Earth's mystical history. Bestowed with the elements and the Golden Light by powers beyond even the most advanced mystic's understanding in order of the astrological signs, the Protector spreads good will and hope around the globe, protecting the innocent and disposing of any evil that touches upon the Earth. What sign are you?" Raven finished.

Naturess sighed. "Cancer."

Raven's eyes widened, which was a feat. Not much surprises Raven.

"Woah, what's going on? Why is being a cancer so bad? I'm a cancer!" Cyborg said.

"You both have that infectious earthly disease?! Why have you not received treatment?!" A bewildered Starfire said, joining the conversation.

"No, no Star. Being a Cancer just means you were born in between June 22nd and July 22nd. It's just a bunch of superstition," Robin said, slipping his hand into Starfire's, trying to reassure her.

"A bunch of superstition, huh? What's your sign?" Naturess said, grinning and crossing her arms defiantly.

"Taurus," Robin replied hesitantly.

"Taurus the bull; headstrong and stubborn, tends to get obsessed over certain things, but has a gentle heart inside the hard, earthly shell," Naturess recited. Starfire gasped.

"You are a mind reader, no?" she said.

"No, it's just that the stars are extremely accurate," Naturess smiled. "You're not from this planet, are you?"

"No. I am from the planet Tamaran. My real name is Koriand'r, which is Starfire in your language," Starfire replied.

"You mean Princess Koriand'r," Robin said, smiling warmly at Starfire. She blushed.

"Hey, you two are real cute together, did you know that?" Naturess smiled.

"So we're told," Robin replied.

"You never answered my question," Cyborg said, changing the subject and looking at Naturess. "What's wrong with being a Cancer?"

"There's nothing wrong with being a Cancer! It's just that Cancer is last in the astrological cycle," Naturess said, then became very serious and focused. "Everything starts in the middle, so there really is no end. That's the point of a cycle, and that's why they chose Cancer to signify the end of one cycle, and beginning of another. But there's a catch for being a Cancer for me," Naturess said, receiving concerned looks from everyone but Raven. Raven knew what was coming.

"If I don't get rid of significant traces of evil on this Earth before I die, the cycle will be broken. Chaos will erupt. Life on Earth as we know it will be wiped out. If I die before my work is finished, Armageddon itself will come," Misty finished, with a grim look upon her face. The team had already heard of something similar, but in the form of Raven's demonic father.

"And if you get rid of this evil?" Robin asked.

"There will be an era of peace and love. The Golden Age will last for a century, before the cycle starts again, for unfortunately evil always exists. It is what balances the cosmos. Light cannot truly triumph over Dark, and vice versa. But we can enjoy it while it lasts," Naturess said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm currently traveling the world, going anywhere I'm needed and where my instincts tell me to go. I'm not about to lose this battle with Fate," Naturess said triumphantly.

"Then why are you here in Jump City? What "significant evil" are you trying to get rid off? The only tough baddy we really have here is Slade," Beast Boy said.

"That's him! That's who I'm here for! Do you realize how dangerous he is? He attacked my home town, and not even that, he made a deal with a demon! A nasty, conniving demon who almost destroyed Earth! I was in Europe when I felt him arrive. I thought he was trapped in an inter-dimension. But before I could find him, he vanished, and I never found out why he just…left. His kind don't usually leave like that," Naturess said.

"No, they don't," Raven said. Naturess gave her a questioning look. "We fought Trigon. We almost lost, but won in the end," Raven told her.

"But how did he even get into our world? He would've needed some kind of portal," Naturess commented. Raven didn't usually talk about her experience with Trigon, but somehow, she felt that it was necessary for Naturess to know if she was to fulfill her destiny.

"I was his portal," Raven told Naturess. Naturess had a double-take.

"But- that would mean-"

"Trigon is my father," Raven finished for her.

"Wow…well, kudos to you guys…that's…absolutely amazing. How did you do it?" Naturess asked. The Titans exchanged glances, and Raven nodded to Robin. And so Robin proceeded to tell the story of the Earth's close call with Trigon.

Naturess sat and took in all of the information Robin was giving her. She noticed his tone of disgust whenever Robin said Slade's name. The two had a history; that much was clear.

When Robin finished, he asked how much Naturess knew about Slade, since that was why she was in Jump City.

"Not a whole lot, but I do know that he's a planner. Every move plotted against his opponent. Every strategy practiced to perfection. He enjoys mentally destabilizing his opponents so that their defeat will be easy. But I've never seen him in person."

"I was in eastern Asia when I got an SOS from my home town of Silvershine. I flew there straight from Taiwan. Slade's drones had been attacking Silvershine ruthlessly, and after the third attack since I'd arrived, I finally managed to rip off one of their masks. I wanted to be able to shut it down without destroying it so I could trace the technology. But instead of mechanics, there was a TV screen with who I would find out to be Slade, sending me a live transmission," Naturess recalled.

Robin's eyes behind his mask widened in alarm- the scenario was just too familiar for him.

"Slade told me that if I came to Jump City, he would stop attacking Silvershine. I thought it might be a trick but I had a…a dream. A premonition, if you will. If I did not come here to defeat Slade…well, there'd be nothing left on this earth to save. So here I am," Naturess finished.

"But why you?" Robin asked. "Does he know exactly who you are?"

"I'm assuming so, since he nearly destroyed half of Silvershine merely to get my attention. If I'd just been there, then maybe the destruction would have stopped sooner…" Naturess closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

She shook her head, remembering the sight of burning homes and hearing the screams of the people she was supposed to protect. Starfire put a reassuring hand on Naturess' shoulder.

"It is not your fault. Slade is an evil man, and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Do not blame yourself," the Tamaranian said softly. Naturess smiled at her half-heartedly.

"We've fought Slade before, but he always comes back somehow. As much as I hate to admit it, the dude's unstoppable," Cyborg commented.

"Well this time, you've got me," Naturess said, smiling. "If you would like to help me, that is."

"Wherever Slade is we will stop him, once and for all, and that's a promise," Robin said determination ringing in his voice.

"Where are you staying now? I thought you had said at the festival that you moved here," Beast Boy asked Naturess.

"Heh, well…I kinda lied. People are going to start asking questions when there's a new face in town, so I said I moved here to prevent attention," Naturess answered.

"I was dancing at the festival because they paid me a good amount of money, and I needed it to pay for food. Plus, I was thinking that maybe Slade would show up at a public event like that, and I wanted to be there before he could hurt anyone else," Naturess said to counteract anyone who would ask why she was dancing at the festival if she didn't want to attract any attention.

"Well, where are you staying now?" Robin asked.

"I've been sleeping in a forest not too far from Jump City. I brought some camping stuff with me from my place back in Silvershine. The rest of the time, I've been looking for Slade," Naturess replied. The rest of the team knew what was coming next.

"Absolutely not! No friend of mine will sleep in the wilderness where there are creatures of unknown terror! You should stay with us, here in the tower!" Starfire pleaded with Naturess.

"Hey, it's okay Starfire. I can take care of myself," Naturess winked.

"But, but…" an exasperated Starfire started.

"It's okay Starfire, really. I don't want to intrude. This is your home, not mine," Naturess said, addressing the last part to everyone sitting around the table.

"But if you really want to find out where Slade is, you should stay here. We've got the best tracking technology, and we'll be able to find wherever he's hiding sooner, especially if he knows that you're staying with us in Titan's Tower. But, before you get settled in, we need to tell you about someone. Someone who we trusted, and she betrayed us," Robin started. Beast Boy spoke up.

"Her name was Terra…" And so the story of Terra and her betrayal and redemption was told.

"She couldn't have controlled her powers just like that," Naturess snapped her fingers. "I have to meditate every day to control mine!" Naturess said when Beast Boy told her of when Terra had come back, claiming to be able to control her powers.

"Good. So do I. It helps me control my emotions- that's how I unleash my powers. It's good to know that you meditate, and I can help you if you need it," Raven said.

"Thanks, I'd like that," Naturess smiled. Robin knew that they were off to a good start with Naturess, especially if Raven could start trusting her this early on.

"So will you stay with us, Naturess?" Starfire asked.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Naturess said, eyes downcast.

The Titans all looked at Robin, who then smiled and said, "We're sure."

"Okay, then I'll stay, for now," Naturess said shyly.

"Oh, glorious!" Starfire clapped her hands in excitement.

"I'm gonna need to get my stuff from the woods though," Naturess replied, standing up. "Misty's still in that tattered dress."

"You're speaking as if Misty is a different person," Raven said, raising her brow.

Naturess sat back down. "She isn't a different person; we're just two halves of a whole. Misty is still Misty, but she's human. She has limited control over the elements, and she can't heal. But I can," Naturess said.

"You can heal? I thought you just control the elements?" Beast Boy asked.

"That's not all I can do," Naturess winked at Beast Boy, who started drooling. Cyborg proceeded to hit him off the back of the head.

"Why don't you train with us tomorrow morning? Then we'll really see what you can do," Robin replied, smirking.

All the Titans knew what was coming- the obstacle course, built by none other than Cyborg, who had redeemed his record since Terra's imprisonment beneath the city.

"Betcha can't beat my record!" Cyborg said, elbowing Naturess.

"Oh, it's on," Naturess grinned, and Cyborg laughed.

"We'll see about that little lady," Cyborg said, still laughing.

After retrieving her things from the forest, the Titans gave Naturess Terra's room to sleep in for that night. From the moment Naturess stepped in her room, she could see how much Terra had loved the Earth. The room was painted to give a desert feel, and it worked wonderfully. Naturess was reminded of the night she had spent in the Gobi Desert. There hadn't been a soul in sight, and it was so lonely. But Misty felt everything but lonely with the Titans.

After transforming back into Misty, she took a warm shower and changed into blue and green checkered pajama pants and a red and silver striped t-shirt. Misty crawled under the cotton sheets and felt the softness of the mattress beneath her; she couldn't remember the last time she had last slept in a real bed. A feeling of gratitude towards the Titans washed over Misty. Then the teen fell into a deep slumber, dreaming of friendship, love, and a sense of belonging.