The New Teen Titans Part II: The Curse of al Ghul

Chapter 3: Sleepover of Super

"I don't get it." It was the first thing Robin had said after another long silence as he piloted the jet.

The sleek Batjet sliced through the darkness in the quiet night sky. Qurac was long gone by now, and the comfort of home was looming closer, but the sense of accomplishment for having completed the mission wasn't quite there this time. The Prince was safe, which was what truly mattered, of course, but the Titans still arrived too late to save the King. Damian couldn't help but feel somewhat defeated at the whole thing, and not knowing who could've been behind the coup was killing him.

"Who were those people we fought?" Robin questioned, still lost in his thoughts.

Red Arrow, who was seated in the back next to Maya, got up from her seat to be closer to the others, and Maya followed her.

Thoughtful, Red Arrow started out with the obvious observation, "Well, first of all, the people we fought were definitely amateurs; They lacked coordination and were too impulsive. They were certainly no ninja assassins."

"They're not?" Colin asked, surprised, as he turned to the archer, "But they were dressed as ninjas!"

Emiko shrugged at him, "Merely dressing as a ninja doesn't make someone become one."

From the front, Robin concurred, "Agreed. They were clearly inexperienced."

Prince Rashid glanced at his loyal friend, who was just as surprised to discover that about their attackers. Those intruders were tactful and scary enough for their taste, they would've never guessed that they were not actual ninjas.

"So what are they, then?" Asked Superboy, who shared the same confusion as the Quracian boys.

 "Mercenaries," Maya concluded, confidently.

All eyes went to Maya, putting her on the spot. The girl raised her shoulders defensively, asking, "What? It would explain things, wouldn't it? Those people were after the Royal family because someone paid them to. And they didn't fight like ninjas because they're not one."

Emiko looked up to the side and nodded, "That would make a lot of sense, actually."

Damian furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin, still consumed by his thoughts, "The man who attacked me mentioned something about those people being trained. The one kid who spared my life is apparently their leader."

"I noticed that." Emiko added, "I was surprised to see such a scrawny guy be the one those metas answered to. And he looked pretty young too, he gotta be close to our age."

"A teenager leading a team of meta-human mercenary assassins?" Colin asked in confusion, "Is that a thing?"

"Of course it is," Maya assured as she pointed to herself, "I bet ya I could lead a whole bunch of meta mercenaries if I wanted to."

Robin cast Maya a glance of disbelief and scoffed at her, "Pff. No, you couldn't. You took your dad's job for what? Two weeks? Then you quit?"

Angry, Nobody walked over to her arrogant friend and bopped him on the head, "That's not true and you know it!"

"You've never even killed before!" Robin retorted.

"You don't have to kill to be a mercenary!"

Rolling her eyes, Red Arrow ignored the two and turned her attention to the rest of the group, "You know, I wonder who that kid is working for. Just because he's the so-called 'leader' doesn't mean he doesn't have a boss."

Hearing that from behind, Maya stopped arguing to share another idea that had come to her, "Maybe the kid works for Slade?"

Once again, the room fell silent as everyone's gaze shifted to Maya once again. Where she was coming up with all those theories, no one knew.