Rupert Thorne, successful entrepreneur as well Gotham crime lord angrily threw the small, lightweight phone against the wall where it shattered upon impact, breaking into a million little pieces. He swore.

"If I may ask what troubles you sir," his personal assistant Julia began.

"What's troubling me?" He made a mock imitation of her refined British accent. "What's troubling me?! What's troubling me is that Takahashi is not at this very moment on his knees begging me to let him live."

"I thought you wanted him dead."

"No, that's simply what I told those incompetent ninjas. To motivate them. I never expected them to be able to actually kill Takhashi."

"Then why send them?"

"Primarily to scare the man. They came highly advertised, as you well know, and the objective was to show Takashi that even the Teen Titans cannot protect him. Instead, one of the most famous group of assassins in the market was dismantled by a couple of spandex-wearing kids. If anything, Takahashi is now emboldened."

"Perhaps not. You came very close to actually killing him. You may not have been successful, but now he knows that-"

An alarm sounded just then, causing Thorne to look up suddenly.

"Intruder," said Julia. She rose to her feet, taking off her chauffeur's cap, revealing short black hair.

"See to it," said Thorne, fully confident in Julia's abilities. She was proficient in more than a dozen lethal martial arts, and was also well- versed in the use of firearms. Whatever it was, Julia would handle it.

The assistant stepped outside.

"Ooommph!" With a sickening thud, her form came flying right back through the exit, knocking the mahogany door right off its hinges. Julia hit the ground in front of Rupert's desk with a thud, blood arcing from her mouth as she fell. Thorne was shell-shocked.

There were two figures in the doorway, a man and a woman, eighteen years of age or so. Both were clad in form-fitting black leather bodysuits, and both wore black trenchcoats. The man was obviously quite well built, and he had short, tidy blond hair framing a surprisingly handsome, well-chiseled face. The female was almost as tall as the male, which was around six feet or so, and she similarly seemed very fit, with an athletic build. Her long blond hair was tied in a ponytail.

And she was rubbing her fist, wiping away the last traces of Julia's blood. Thorne reacted instantly, reaching under his desk and pulling out a loaded revolver. He fired twice.

And then suddenly, the gun was gone and the woman was crouched on his desk, the revolver dangling from her left hand index finger. The other hand held a knife to his throat. The movement had been fast, almost faster than the eye could follow. She had crossed the twenty feet between them in a fraction of a second, something no normal, or even better than normal human should have been able to do. He took in a breath, only to have the skin of his throat press painfully against the steel knife's edge.

"Do I have your attention?" She had a cultured British accent.

He nodded.

"Good." She smiled genially. "My name is Ana, behind me is my brother, Karl, and we have a little proposition for you."

***

Robin watched grimly as a sheet was pulled over the last assassin's lifeless eyes.

"It wasn't pretty," said the coroner as he wrote in his notepad.

"You were there?"

"No, but I got the pleasure of examining the bodies. Nasty stuff."

"Do we have the footage yet?" asked Kay, standing next to Robin.

"Cyborg's working on it." The scene had not been intentionally filmed, since reporters had been kept away at all costs. However, they would have been naïve to think that someone didn't manage to get a shot-the media was well known for its ability to get just about anything on tape, and the arrest of one of the most infamous assassin squads on the planet was no exception.

Kay sighed, leaning back against her parked motorcycle. "Robin . . .I'm really sorry all this happened and kinda ruined you guys' night. None of us were expecting-"

"No need to apologize," Robin cut her off. "It was fun while it lasted, and we were able to our job, which is to protect Takahashi and the corporation. So were you."

Kay nodded. She seemed almost contemplative for a moment, her hand in her chin. Finally, she spoke again, turning so she could see Robin's profile. "Is there anything between you and Starfire?" she asked suddenly.

Robin (who at that very moment had been looking at Starfire as she flew high above in the sky to keep a lookout for another attack) looked at her, not having heard her words clearly. "Hmm."

"You and Starfire. Are you guys just friends, or . . ."

Robin had no idea what had brought about that question, but he obliged, giving the instinctive answer. "No, just friends. Why?"

A grin. "It's the silliest thing really. I was just getting this kind of . . .I dunno . . .vibe from watching the two of you, it made me wonder."

Face warming, Robin asked, "A vibe?"

"Yeah."

Robin looked back at Star. A part of him said that this was just imagination, he and his Tamaranian teammate were just friends. The other part though made him wonder what it was in his interaction with her that had given Kay the idea in he first place. And what of Kay? He would have to be blind not to see her obvious interest, even if he pretended not to. Where did she fit into all this?

He shook his head, stopping his wandering thoughts. He could worry about his romance life later, but right now, he had a job to do.

***

Back at their condo, the five titans plus Kay crowded in the living room to watch the video that Cyborg had put together, a veritable amalgam of the different bits and pieces of any kind of video data that had managed to capture even the remotest aspect of the drive-by, whether they were surveillance cameras or photos or videos taken by journalists who had managed to slip by the police barriers. Also included was a compilation of eyewitness accounts from police and pedestrians alike.

"What kind of man kills those in his own employ for no reason," Starfire murmured, listening to the footage of one witness describing how the bullets had ripped the handcuffed assassins to shreds.

"A man who doesn't give a crap about human life," Raven stated bluntly. She reached over and turned off the television. "Well, I think we've seen enough."

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "What we need to do now is devise a plan to keep Mr. Takahashi safe. We can't count on the chance that Thorne's going to give up just because his first attack failed."

And so in the following hour, the Titans plus Kay worked on a plan. Basically, it was to constantly move Takahashi from location to location, and keep him under wraps. No more public appearances, those were like a sniper's heaven. Takahashi's own security force would always be spread out around a two mile radius of wherever Takahashi would be staying. Thorne had the money. He could afford the best in mercenaries and killers, Robin reminded them before they departed. These next few weeks would be the hardest. Objective one, therefore, was as always to keep Takahashi safe. Objective two: find Thorne, and stop him.

***

Later that night, Robin knocked on Takahashi's door, waiting patiently for his new employer to open it.

"Who is it?"

"Robin."

The door creaked open, allowing Robin to step through. Takahashi had been watching the news, but he turned it off once Robin entered. "Ah, Robin, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing, much, I just had a question."

"Shoot."

"What do you know about Rupert Thorne."

The congenial smile on Takahashi's face slipped for just a second, but Robin, who had been gauging his features for a reaction noticed. "He's a crime lord, right?"

"Ever had any dealings with him?"

"Of course not?!"

"Any negative interactions at all?"

"Why would I deal with a common thug?"

"That's what I want to know. See, the thing is, I just can't figure out why this guy wants to kill you so badly."

"Oh, come now Robin. My company has enacted numerous crime prevention programs, every thug and drug dealer on the streets probably hates me."

"Enough to hire a professional death squad to kill you in a room full of superheroes?"

"Perhaps."

"The man I subdued, he said something about you stealing an item from Thorne."

"Either the ramblings of a deranged fool or a carefully crafted diversion to throw you off track. Either way its nonsense."

"You sure?"

"Are you insinuating something?"

"No, I'm just asking questions." Robin stepped back outside. "Think on it."

He shut the door.