Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

Chapter 4: Leap of Faith

"Rise and shine, my fellow residents of Titans Tower! In honor of our new guest, the lovely Miss Naturess, Beast Boy and I have thrown together the ultimate brunch! Come and get it before it's all gone!" Cyborg announced over the Tower's speakers, with Beast Boy yelling something about tofu eggs in the background.

A very sleepy and disgruntled Robin, Starfire, Raven, and Misty opened their doors simultaneously and trudged down to the main room of the tower. When the heavenly scent of bacon crept into Misty's nose, however, she shook off her sleepiness and shot over to the kitchen counter, where a buffet off mouth-watering eggs, tofu eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, and of course, waffles.

Misty loaded up her plate with a sample of every single kind of food offered and started chowing down; eating everything piled sky high on her plate, including Beast Boy's tofu eggs. Before any of the other Titans even sat down to eat, Misty had washed down her breakfast with ice cold milk. She patted her stomach contentedly.

"Uh...how long has it been since you've had a decent meal?" Robin asked Misty.

"Too long, that's for sure!" Misty replied well naturedly, and then burped unceremoniously. She blushed a hot pink and covered her mouth. "Um...excuse me?"

"I give it an eight. Five for the execution, but three for sound. If you've got the skill, flaunt it," Cyborg said, then let a loud belch escape to prove his point. Misty held up ten fingers, as did Beast Boy. The three laughed, and Starfire soon joined in. Robin and Raven just raised an eyebrow at the rest of the team, but seeing this Misty stopped laughing.

"What's wrong? I'm sorry if I was being impolite, I didn't mean to be, I just- I mean, I haven't-" Misty started stammering, not wanting to make a bad impression.

"Haven't what? It's okay Misty; it's not you, we would have reacted the same way, even if you weren't here. We just have slightly different senses of humor than they do," Robin reasoned with Misty.

"Or in Raven's case, there's just no sense of humor at all," Beast Boy grinned and raised an eyebrow at Misty, jerking his thumb in Raven's direction. Raven's eyes flashed and Beast Boy's tofu eggs exploded in his face.

"Oops," Raven said sarcastically. Now everyone laughed but Beast Boy, who was now trying to pick tofu egg out of his hair.

"Dude!" Beast Boy whined. "So not funny!"

Everyone started laughing again. After the laughter died, Robin cleared his throat.

"You never answered my question Misty. What were you going to say earlier?" Robin asked. Misty sighed, her heart tugging at her chest.

"I, well, I haven't laughed like this in so long. I've been away from home for a long time…I try to talk to my friends and family as much as I can through e-mail or the phone, but being face to face would mean so much more…I just, I mean, I know I was back there to stop Slade's attacks, but I didn't get to see my family or my friends. Once I knew who was behind the attacks, I had to leave again so I could keep them safe…" Misty said, her voice lowering until it was barely above a whisper. Sadness overwhelmed her heart.

She didn't want the Titans to see her so fragile and vulnerable by showing tears, so she collected the Titans empty breakfast plates and walked over to the sink, dropping the plates within it. Misty turned away from the Titans so they wouldn't see the tears forming within her eyes. Starfire's voice stopped her before she could make a run for the main doors.

"How long has it been since you have last seen your family?" Starfire asked, her voice pulsing with concern.

"Almost three years," Misty said, her voice cracking and tears threatening to spill out of her blue eyes. "Excuse me," she said, her voice cracking yet again. The doors opened and then Misty was gone.

Raven looked at the Titans. They looked back at her.

"I'll go talk to her," Raven said.

Misty had transformed into Naturess, and was floating cross-legged above the carpet of Terra's room. Her eyes were shut and didn't open, not even when she heard a knock at Terra's door.

"Um…it's Raven…may I come in?" Raven asked, her voice raising an octave to try and shake her monotone.

"Sure," Naturess replied. Raven punched in the pass code and walked towards Naturess until she was standing beside her.

"Just to let you know, I suck at making people feel better. But I'm a good listener," Raven said. Misty opened her silver eyes at Raven.

"Why did you change into Naturess?" Raven asked.

"I don't feel as much emotion. Misty needed to calm down, and I'm like her novacaine. I numb the emotion. The pain that she's feeling," Naturess explained.

"I get that three years is a long time, but why is she so heart broken? I haven't seen my mother in years, and I just plain hate my father," Raven said.

"Well, no offense Raven, but your father's a demon bent on taking over the world. Misty's dad isn't. Plus…it isn't that simple," Naturess said.

"Then unsimplify it. Let me understand. I want to help. I'm not usually this generous, Naturess. But there's something about your aura…something that I can't quite understand. And to be honest, it's bothering the crap out of me. I don't know if it's good or bad, and I want to be able to protect my friends. Including you," Raven said as she joined Naturess, floating next to her in a meditation pose.

"Raven, do you trust me?" Naturess asked, turning her head to face Raven.

"I don't know yet," Raven replied honestly.

"I could sense something when Starfire was giving me a tour of the tower. You were thinking about betrayal," Naturess said bluntly.

"I was thinking about Terra. I was thinking that you had a resemblance to her, and I started thinking of the first time we showed her around the Tower. But up close, you actually look a lot different," Raven added to try and reassure Naturess.

"I want you to be able to trust me. I know that your powers can reach inside of my mind. I'm giving you an open invitation to see what's inside. I want to be able to be trusted," Naturess said.

"Are you sure? It might be a little…unpleasant," Raven said, taken a little aback at how Naturess trusted her so completely. She was the daughter of a demon, after all. And after all of the things Terra had said to her as the hands so created dragged her deeper and deeper into the thick, viscous mud…

"Come on, Raven. What stings the most? That I tricked you? That I nearly wiped out your team?"

Raven grew angry again. It still stung, to this day.

"Or is it that deep down inside you really believed I was your friend?"

Raven shook away the painful memories. She was never going to allow herself to be betrayed like that again, even if Terra really did save them all in the end.

"Alright," Raven said to Naturess. "Face me and close your eyes."

Naturess did as Raven asked. Raven closed her own eyes and placed her fingertips on Naturess' forehead. And with a leap of faith that Raven had never even dreamed of taking before, Raven entered the mind of Naturess.

Author's Note: Just a lil' bit of a cliffie. I know Raven may be a little OOC, but I'm trying my best, so deal with it. ;P And I would very much appreciate at least two reviews before I continue. Just two! I know I'll probably continue anyways because I actually like where this story is going, but please? I would feel oh-so-good about myself. Reviews are a writer's best friend, because they allow us to receive feedback on the good and bad of a story. And I didn't edit this chapter because it was late when I finished it, so I know there may be some mistakes. I believe the little green 'Review' button should be below this Author's Note. Thank you very very very much :) I'm tired and babbling, so I'm gonna stop typing now. Heh heh…