35 hits but no reviews? Aww... :( Ah well, can I have some reviews this time? Please?

Behold, the next chapter! The story should start to get more interesting after this. It'll also start to make more sense, hopefully. Please review and tell me what you think!

Chapter Two

The next day, the Titans found their leader pacing in the main room. It wasn't an unusual sight in the least, but it did bring back bad memories of the 'Slade Days'. Robin seemed to have mostly gotten over his obsession, but every now and then…

Raven decided to interrupt before his steel boots wore through another carpet. "Robin. What's wrong?"

Robin turned to face his team, hands still clasped behind his back. "It's these robberies; I just don't get it. The clues don't fit together. The criminal's hitting random places, as if all they're after is some quick cash, not specific items, but the amount of skill…it's almost like magic."

"Don't rule it out," Raven commented dryly.

Robin gave a wry smile. "Well, were there any traces of magic at the crime scene yesterday?"

"Not that I could detect."

"And that's another thing I don't get! At that store yesterday, it was pure chance that the owner even realised something was missing; it just so happened that he checked the stands that had been holding the stolen items when he got back in. They were taken while he was out 'buying doughnuts'; the only reason we know the exact time is because the tape shows when the cameras were cut." He held up the tape in question. "For all we know, this could be happening all over the place without people even realising they're being robbed."

"Wait," interjected Cyborg, "don't the tapes show anything?"

"Well…" Robin looked doubtful. "I thought – well, I'll just show you." He took the tape over to the computer console and pushed it in, then waited for the image to flicker up on the big screen. He pressed play.

The screen showed a dimly-lit corridor, apparently out the back of the store. Nothing was moving. Robin wound it on to just before the tape cut off. The Titans watched the unmoving picture for a few seconds before it abruptly cut to black.

"There!" cried Robin. "Did anyone else see that?"

He rewound it again and paused just before it went blank and pointed to a spot in the bottom-right corner. "There, see that little blurry shape? That's the only thing I've noticed. I tried zooming in, but the resolution's not good enough. It's just a blur."

"Friend Robin, what will be our next course of action? We have learned very little from this tape or from visiting the scenes of crime. How shall we catch the criminal if we cannot find any clues?"

Robin ran a weary hand through his hair. "I really don't know, Star. I guess we'll just have to wait until something comes up…"

"Wake up, you lazy brat. There's work to do."

The boy stirred and opened his eyes. He sat up quickly, his instincts telling him, after years of hard-learned lessons, that it wasn't safe to be vulnerable. Realising he was in no immediate danger, he groggily rubbed a hand across his face and met the eyes of the man standing over him. "What is it, Kurt?"

"You've been sleepin' fer ages; it's dark. We thought we'd let you rest – you're gonna need yer strength – but it's nearly time to go. You need to get ready. You remember the plan?"

"Yeah, of course. Same as always."

"Yeah, but don't forget it's different this time, 'cause we'll be there. You watch out, all right? If anything happens to us because of you…"

He moved away, leaving the threat hanging in the air. The boy stretched and stood up before surveying the room. Kurt was walking over to Stokes to help check their gear, glancing over a blueprint of the museum as he did so. The boy wasn't sure where they'd gotten that from; one of their new city friends, he'd wager.

"All right, kid, let's get moving. What's your first job?"

"Scout ahead."

"Right. Go on, then."

The two men followed the boy, who had already stepped into the crisp air. They watched him glance one way, then the other, before setting off for Jump City Museum of Ancient Artefacts.

The team had leaped into the T-car almost before Robin could announce that they were heading to the museum. They had been alerted to an in-progress crime, which was almost a relief after all the disappointment and anti-climaxes of the past few weeks. They were all eager to get a crook behind bars tonight.

"So, do you think it could be our boy?" asked Cyborg, navigating the dark streets with a precision only he could achieve at that velocity.

"I don't know," replied Robin, staring intently at the information on his communicator. "Apparently two men were spotted sneaking in a side door; it's not like our guy to bring company, especially not someone who's gonna get seen like that."

"So you think these two are just your regular run-of-the-mill crooks then?"

"It's likely, although they managed to get in without tripping any alarms. That was only a few minutes ago, and they haven't been seen leaving, so they should still be in there. We should get them easy – assuming, of course, that they don't have help… All right, pull up here."

Cyborg stopped the car opposite the museum and everyone clambered out. They regarded the imposing building from across the street. It was one of Jump City's older buildings, and its age showed; cracks ran across the cold concrete walls which seemed to be struggling to support the slightly lopsided roof. It was a wide, squat structure, settled on a patch of thistles and gangly, sickly-looking weeds, and the rust was clear around the edges of the door- and window-frames where the old paint had peeled away. All in all, it looked like a much unloved place, and it probably hadn't seen many visitors in recent years. Raven almost felt a pang of pity, before she reminded herself that it was just a building.

"OK, Titans," Robin called, snapping everyone back into action mode. "Raven, you and Cyborg go through the side door that the men used – try to be quiet, and report anything you find. We'll take the front entrance." With that the team split to fulfil their assigned duties.

Raven took a deep breath before nodding at Cyborg. She glanced back at Robin and Starfire running (and flying) towards the front of the building before she glided to the side door. Cyborg was close behind her, and they stood on either side of the door.

"Can you sense anything?" he asked quietly.

Raven closed her eyes. "There are a couple of auras further in, and something else – something—" She opened her eyes with a slight frown on her face. "Strange."

The half-robot nodded, unsure what to make of this. "Well, no time like the present."

With synchronised motions that had been formed from working together a long time, they simultaneously whirled around to face the door, pushed it open and stepped through, quietly. They stood for a moment in the dark, Raven blinking as her eyes adjusted and Cyborg scanning the space with his infra-red eye. "It would be safe to use a little light," she told him, reaching out for the auras she had sensed earlier. "They're not too close."

Cyborg complied, flicking on a small shoulder-light. He dimmed it to make the white beam less stark, then prepared his sonic cannon. "Which way?" he asked, indicating the corridors to either side of them. Raven started to the right, although truthfully she wasn't really sure; this was the direction she could feel the auras of what were most likely the two thieves they were after, but there was that strange presence the other way, confusing her empathic senses. She decided to investigate after they'd dealt with their primary targets.

"Hey, Kurt, look!"

"Keep your voice down. Yeah, I see it. Kid, over 'ere!"

The boy, having just returned from a circular scout of the place, left his post at the door to join the two men. They were standing by one of the larger glass cases, and as he approached Stokes gestured to an object inside. His eyes widened as he took in the sight. Stokes grinned, an almost maniacal gleam in his eyes. "That one," he said, holding out his already bulging sack. He was like a twisted version of a child at Christmas, pointing to some toy in a store window.

The boy nodded, and stepped up to the case, gazing at its contents, pondering the best way to break in…

"Found anything?"

Even Robin's whisper sounded far too loud in the deathly-still old place. Both Raven and Cyborg inwardly cringed, before she muttered a quiet, "No."

"No, neither have we. Keep going, though; we're getting closer to each other, so hopefully we can ambush them from both sides."

The communicator clicked off and Robin's face disappeared.

"We're nearly there," Raven informed him, her voice barely even a whisper, but Cyborg had no problem catching it. Even without his cybernetic hearing, the silence was so great that he was sure he could have heard a feather hitting the floor. Come to think of it, he could hear something up ahead; it sounded like voices…

The boy cracked the case open as silently as possible, then lifted the heavy golden statue from its stand. Stokes looked at it, then at his bag, then back at the statue.

"You'll have to carry it," he announced. "Even if it would fit, there's no way I'm luggin' that thing around."

He cringed at the volume of the man's voice, certain that someone would find them any second now. It was only a feeling, but he had found his instincts to be very reliable, and right now they were telling him to run for it. He cursed himself for suggesting they should come; he remembered now why he preferred working alone. He could move silently and without detection; his two companions lacked his stealth.

His sensitive ears twitched, trying to pick up anything above their talking. Weren't those footsteps? If only they'd stop being so loud—

"—ready to go? I think we've got all we can carry."

"Yeah, let's get outta here. Come on, kid; and don't you drop that."

The boy set down his load for a moment so he could talk. "I think someone's coming."

Kurt whirled around. "What?! Why didn't you tell us?" The boy bit back the obvious retorts; it wasn't worth arguing. "Well, then, all the more reason to get going. Watch our backs, runt."

They started for the door, but at that moment two sets of doors, on either side of the large gallery, burst open. "Titans, go!"

The boy panicked and dropped the statue he'd just picked up again. The two thieves swore and ran for the door, refusing to drop their loot even though the sacks were hitting against their legs, slowing them down.

As soon as he let go of the statue, he changed to a smaller form and dived behind a pillar. He glanced quickly at the four teenagers who had just entered: a guy with dark, spiky hair and a mask, a tall girl with long red hair and green glows surrounding her hands as she flew, a large guy who seemed to be mostly metal, and a figure cloaked in blue, the face concealed within a hood. He quickly realised they must be superheroes, and his fear of law-enforcers that had been drummed into his head for so long made him turn and flee.

He kept to the shadows, but Kurt and Stokes were forced to run mostly in the open, although they tried to dodge and weave between pillars in an attempt to slow down their pursuers – the four young superheroes had already spotted them and made chase. It wasn't working; they had a good head start, but the teens were catching up fast.

Kurt reached the door first, but just as he reached for the handle the whole door became encased in black energy. He jerked his hand back with a yelp and whirled around – the creepy cloaked kid's eyes were glowing white, and her outstretched hands were surrounded by black spheres. He growled and kicked the door, then tried to wrench it open. Stokes joined him, puffing and panting, and frantically tried to help. The hero brats would reach them any second, and then they'd be done for—

Robin leaped at them with a war cry, but just before his foot could make contact with the nearest thug's head, the door was pulled open from outside, the two men fell through, and the door slammed again, leaving him to crash into it with a loud thud.

On the other side of the door, Kurt and Stokes didn't need to be told to run. They made a mad dash for their getaway car without stopping to thank their rescuer, who was now trying to hold the door shut in the form of a T-Rex.

The combined strength of the four teenagers was too great for him to keep this up, but he only needed to give his partners-in-crime some time to make their escape. He heard the squeal of tires as the car sped away, then a second later he felt the door begin to give. In a second his large form was replaced by that of a fly, just as the doors burst open.

The Titans jumped out, only to be greeted by an empty street. There was no sign of the two thieves anywhere – so who, or what, had been holding the door?

"Chase them!" yelled Robin, although neither he nor any of the others had any idea which way to go. They wordlessly split up; Raven and Starfire rose into the air, Cyborg ran around to get in the T-car and Robin sprinted down the road.

None of them noticed that in a nearby alley, a pair of green eyes was peering out from within the safety of a garbage can's shadow.