Gotham City was always much creepier at night, Batman and Robin both agreed. But sometimes the best work had to be done in the dark. The streets of Lower Gotham were filled with gangsters, mobsters, and, of course, super-villains.

But according to the report from Gotham City Police, only two or three villains were currently on the loose; some freed, others "liberated".

The streets were dimly lit with flickering street lamps, casting an orange glow over the cracked and graffiti-filled pavement. Robin fingered his utility belt nervously, every little sound made him jump. Of course he could handle himself in a fight, but sneak attacks and traps were no joke. Heh, joke, Joker.

He was one of the few villains currently running about. And, by Robin's experience, by far the scariest. The Joker was insane. There was no rhyme or reason for what he did, and there was no gain for it. He just wanted to kill, kill, kill.

The sound of a trash can in an alleyway falling over made Robin whirl around, but there was only a scrawny black cat, hissing angrily. There was another omen, from Catwoman. Sure, Catwomen had been on their side a fair dozen times, but when she wasn't, which was about 80% of the time, she usually ended up trying to kill him, or Batman, or both,

"Robin, calm yourself." Batman's deep baritone voice came through the communicator as clearly as if he was standing right next to Robin. "There is nothing out there that can hurt us we are well prepared."

"Right. Well prepared." Robin's voice seemed higher, even to himself. "But what if-"

Suddenly, something slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him as he hit the ground. As they were going down, Robin heard a gunshot fired over his head.

Struggling, Robin could make out a small, lean figure pinning him down. The figure leaned over, and whispered in his ear ferociously, "Are you crazy? What were you thinking, coming down here?"

Robin could feel something brushing his face, and realized it was the figure's hair. Paired with the deadly sounding, but still clearly female voice, and he knew that a teenage girl had pinned him to the ground.

He felt his cheeks flush. Batman's going to have my hide! He thought. Bested by a girl!

The girl glanced behind her quickly, then leaned down and whispered into his ear again, "Don't move, no matter what happens." Robin, deciding it would be best not to have Ninja Girl take him out again, lay perfectly still. He opened his eyes a slit and caught a glimpse of a black-haired girl – brownish in the orangey glow from the street lamps – disappearing into the alleyway.

The next thing he heard was a boy's voice in a hushed tone saying dangerously, "Why in the world didn't you let me take the shot?"

The girl's voice, only raised, shouted back, "Because then Batman's going to track us down for killing his stupid sidekick! Don't you think of anything? The best way to find out where Dad is is not to start blasting at every super villain and super hero you come across! If Batman has to come and find Robin, then he might be willing to tell us if he's holding Dad captive."

Robin's mind was whirling as he lay in front of the alleyway. Apparently, this girl and her brother thought that Batman and he were responsible for their Dad's disappearance. But that was crazy. He didn't even know who these people were! How in the world would he find somebody that he didn't know what they looked like? Let alone their name.

"Your brain's fried." The boy laughed coldly. Actually, come to think of it, his voice sounded more like a man's than a boy's. "You really expect us to be able to keep even Batman's sidekick captive?"

"It's just what I thought." The girl sounded sullen. "Anyway, I knocked him out, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah. But who knows what you could mess up." The boy laughed.

The next thing Robin heard was a loud crack, and a scream. Then came a sound like an aerosol spray can, and a sound like roaring agony, like a lion that stepped on a thorn. Suddenly the girl came barreling around the corner, cradling her right hand.

"Get up!" She hissed. "Come on! My uncle taught us how to shorten the effects of pepper spray. He'll only be decapitated for a few minutes!" Robin rolled over and hopped up.

Immediately the girl swung around and sprinted forward. Robin had to admit she was fast. They ran and ran, crisscrossing, doubling back, and taking short cuts. They ran until they couldn't hear her brother's shouts echoing behind them, filled with curses, punctuated with gun shots, and dotted with threats on "Cupid's" life.

Eventually they stopped in a dark alleyway, breathing hard and not talking for a long time. The moonlight was strong enough that Robin could see the girl and study her.

She had long, raven black hair that seemed to glow in the moonlight above. Her eyes were green and looked like feral cat's eyes. Wild, ferocious, and not trusting easily. She was dressed in a short, sleeveless black dress with bright green tights, the color of acid, and black combat boots. It was fashionable, but functional. Slung across one shoulder was a gray camouflaged bag that Robin was sure was filled with nasty tricks and treats of all sorts.

She glanced up, looking towards the rooftops. "I think your mentor came looking for you."

"What?" Robin looked up and saw Batman looking over the edge of the building, the moon behind him and making him look like some dark monster. Batman leaped down from the top of the roof and began nimbly jumping from the fire escape on one side to the other.

When he finally reached the bottom, he pulled his cape close around him and said in a monotone, "I thought I heard trouble."

The girl grimaced. "My brother, Julius. A bit of a knucklehead, if you ask me."

Robin nodded. "More than that, he almost killed me! Thankfully Ms.- I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Valarie Song." The girl smiled grimly. "My brother calls me Cupid."

"Yeah… Why does he call you that?"

"My name sounds like Valentine, and Cupid is associated with Valentine's Day."

"That…makes no sense whatsoever."

"No one ever accused my brother of being a genius." Valarie shrugged. "I call it 'the plagues of being the younger sibling'. Seriously, though. I'll have to keep out of his way for a couple weeks. Until he cools down that is."

Batman nodded. "That was a very brave thing you did."

Valarie might've been embarrassed, but it was impossible to tell. "I just want to know one thing."

Robin moved over to stand by Batman as the Dark Knight replied, "And if I can, I will answer you. "

"Do you know where my father, Dr. Travis Song, is?"

Robin looked inquisitively at Batman. "Who?"

Batman answered, "He is – he was – a very respected surgeon. He hasn't been seen in years."

Valarie jumped in, "He began working in the slums, and lost contact. He actually disappeared two months ago. My brother is sure that you, Batman and Robin, or some other super villains, are behind his being vanished. Do you think you could find him?"

Batman dipped his head. "We'll try our best."

A cat yowling outside made Valarie whip her head around. A gunshot was again fired in the distance. "I'd better get going. Julius is going to catch up with me soon, anyway. And he won't be too happy, seeing as I broke his nose in all. You two go and do whatever super heroes do while they're not fighting crime."

Valarie shook Robin's hand, nodded at Batman, and ran off, illuminated in the streetlamps, then disappearing on the other side of the street.

"She's a very valiant girl." Batman commented. "Gotham could use more people like her."

Robin opened his hand to find a note reading:

If you find anything, call me.

Underneath that was a number. Valarie must have trusted the two of them a lot to give them that information.

"Well, Robin, I think that this scouting mission just came to an end. Let's see what we can find out about the Song family."