"Dude, repeat that number again," Beast Boy demanded.

"Four hundred dollars an hour," Robin said for the third time. "Plus any Takahashi merchandise we want."

"ANY merchandise we want?!" Cyborg asked incredulously.

"Yes, I believe that's what I just said."

"How can we not take it?" said Beast Boy. "Dude, you have to go to that girl right now and tell her we want the job."

Robin ignored him, instead turning to the two female members of the Teen Titans. "Star, Raven, what do you guys think?"

"We should take it," Raven said. "It's the same kind of thing we usually do, except we get paid. No brainer."

"Star?"

The young Tamaranian girl shrugged as she carefully mixed her latest recipe, an amalgam of dinner suggestions that she had found on various websites. "I suppose," she said noncommittally.

Robin looked around at his teammates, each one doing something or another in the Tower's main room. "OK then, I guess it's settled.

***

By popular vote, Robin was the one who would negotiate the terms with Kay, which was why he found himself standing outside the large, elegant house with the address that mirrored the one Kay had given him. It looked pretty expensive. He supposed you could afford houses like these when you worked for such a large company.

Kay answered on the second ring, opening the door wide and allowing him to step inside. Unlike last night, she was wearing clothes that actually seemed to fit her true age. Faded capris, a bright pink tank top with word SPICY running across the front in glittery letters, and simple hoop earring dangling from each earlobe. As with the previous night, Robin had to try pretty hard to keep from staring.

Kay flashed her million-watt smile at him. "Hi," she said warmly, "You came just when I thought you would." She pointed to a large, comfortable looking couch that was slightly to the right. "Do you want to sit down?"

"Uh, sure."

"Soda, anything I can get you?"

"Not really."

"OK then." Kay waited for Robin to sit down before plopping down on the couch right next to him. "So tell me Robin, have you talked with your fellow Titans?"

"Yeah. From what you said last night, it looks like we're going to take the offer."

"Excellent!" Kay beamed at him. "You won't even have to go through hours of paperwork or anything. I'll provide you guys with a thousand dollars up front, and then payment will go as I previously said from then on. Our North American headquarters are on the opposite side of the city from your Tower, so if you find that an inconvenience, there are many quite luxurious living spaces in the actual building that you and your friends could occupy."

"That would be nice," Robin mused. "By the way, how long would you need us to act as security?"

"Only about a month. By then, we should have all of our research done and completed."

"What exactly is this top-secret research about anyway?" Robin asked out of simple curiosity.

Kay shrugged. "Truthfully, I have no idea. Kinda weird that they won't tell their own head security advisor what it is exactly she's supposed to be securing, but that's the way it is. Only the top guys in the company know what the research is, other than the scientists of course." She paused. "You sure you don't want anything to drink?"

"Yeah," Robin told her.

""Alright then, well, I have gone to the liberty of getting these," as she said this, she reached into her pocket and pulled out two floppy disks. "Here, you will find the layouts of some of our major buildings, as well as the complete documentation of the police reports that were made after we first started having trouble with these . . .saboteurs, for lack of a better word."

Robin took the disks, looking at them briefly. "Thanks," he said. "These should be really helpful."

"Great. So I'll see you at the ball."

"What?"

"Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you. Takahashi Inc. is having celebration of sorts, you know, in commemoration or something of our new Gotham facilities."

"Are you inviting me?"

"Yes, well, you and the other Titans. Its really not a big deal, unless you're allergic to tuxes or something."

"Tuxes, huh."

"Yep." Her brow furrowed. "You will come, won't you?"

"When is it?"

"Two days from now. 8 to around 12."

Robin ingested this bit of information silently. Finally, he said. "OK, We're in."

"Great." Kay looked over at him. "You sure you don't want anything to eat or drink?"

Robin was admittedly tempted. "Thanks, but I kinda need to get going."

"You sure?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm sure." Robin stood up.

A look of disappointment flitted over Kay's face for a brief moment, but it was gone as suddenly as it had come and replaced by that brilliant smile of hers. "Well," she said, standing up, 'it was an absolute pleasure meeting with you. Perhaps another time we could work out some more of the details."

Robin gulped involuntarily wondering if he was mistaking friendliness for something else, or if it really was that that something else. And if so, was that such a bad thing? He snapped back to reality then, realizing his mind had drifted off. He managed a lopsided smile. "Perhaps."