The girl's black mask covered most of her face as she jumped across the building tops at a near inhuman speed and agility. She landed lightly on her sneaker clad feet and kept running, the duffle bag and backpack strapped across her back seemed to do little to hinder her movements. She wore a tight black top with black cargo shorts that fit to the bottom of her knees. She had on long black socks and gloves that covers most of her skin, making it impossible to identify what she looked like.

Batman lowered his binoculars."She's good" he muttered, slightly surprised at how easily the girl jumped, flipped, and leaped from building to building with a bag that weighted almost as much as she did strapped to her back.

"Of course she is" retorted the young Robin "You would have to be to steal $500,000 dollar from Battle industries."

"I'm still wondering how she got past security without setting the alarms" Nightwing smirked.

The two men and boy trailed the girl across building tops from across the street.

"Where is she going in such a hurry?" Nightwing asked as he flipped and sailed across the gap between building.

"Away from the place she just robbed, you idiot!" Robin said.

"She stopped" Batman said standing in the shadows watching her.

The girl did indeed stop. She felt eyes following her as if she was being watched. She quickly turned around to see the three heroes standing behind her.

"What do you want?" The teenage girl asked, pulling the mask up to expose her full lips. She was shocked to see the infamous Batman, his sidekick Robin, and Nightwing.

"For you to return the money you stole" Batman said simply in his deep gruff voice.

"I'm not stealing it!" The girl protested

"Oh really, well you broke into a company, cracked their safe, and took money out. So it sure as hell looks like stealing" Robin said pointing to the duffle bag.

The girl glared at him "Listen pipsqueak, I am simply returning what's already been stolen."

"Explain" Batman ordered crossing his arms across his chest.

Sighing the girl pointed from above to the kids sitting in the ally next to the building. "Gentlemen, this is the Gotham Orphanage. As you can see it is in awful condition. That's because, do to some cooked books, the orphanage was in debt to Battle industry. They paid as much as they could every month for the last two years to pay off this debt. This has caused the building to become more run down every month because they didn't have any extra money to pay for upkeep. They barely have enough to feed and clothe these kids or find suitable places for them to sleep. The owner of the orphanage found out yesterday that Johnathan Battle has taken way more money from her than she owed for the last year. Almost $500,000 in cash that they need to actually take care of these kids. When she informed Battle of the mistake, they threw her out of the building and kept her money."

"So you broke in instead of taking legal action because..." Nightwing said urging her to continue.

"Ha! No lawyer in the city would go up against Johnathan Battle and his team of sharks" the girl chuckled darkly.

"So what does have to do with you?" The boy wonder asked sharply, wanting to get this over with.

"I'm giving them their money back" The girl stated simply

"While taking a bit for yourself" Batman said pointing out the dollar bill poking out of her bra strap. The girl looked at him confused then looked down.

"Oh, this is mine" she said smiling slightly as she pulled it out.

"Yeah right!" Robin snorted

"See for yourself" She said handing Batman the dollar. The bill was covered in the drawings made by what looked like a little girl. "I didn't take a penny more than what the orphanage owed!"

The Dark Knight gave the dollar back to her "I believe you. Battle is known for his shady dealings and taking money from innocent people. But what do you stand to gain out of this?"

She looks down at the kids in the alley "These kids remind me of someone I hold dear."

"Your daughter?" Nightwing guessed. "You seem a little young to have kids"

"Yes and no" She chuckled "Its a long story"

With that the girl back flipped off the building, landed on the fire escape and leaped silently onto the ground below.

The three heroes watched as she quietly knocked on the door. The orphanage director opened the door and sobbed with joy when she saw her. The girl smiled and handed her the duffle bag.

"Remember don't spend it all in one go or too soon, it will look suspicious" The girl warned.

"Yes yes! Bless your soul girl! Bless your soul!" the women said still sobbing.

The girl nodded and said good bye to some of the kids before she took off again.

"She moves like you do Dick. Leaps, flips, twists and all" Batman states watching her run off.

"Yeah she does, she would make a great acrobat" He appraised.

"We can't just let her go! If Battle finds her, who knows what he'll do" Robin mutters steely.

Batman nods "You and Damien follow her and see where she goes. Make sure your the only ones who are"

The two boys glare at each other "Can't I go alone?" they say simultaneously.

"No."

The two grumble as they leap away in the direction the girl went. They followed her all the way to an old circus centered on the edges of Gotham.

"Maybe she is an acrobat" Dick Grayson said as they both landed behind a tent watching as the girl flipped down onto the ground in front of a large living trailer. She knocked quietly on the door and immediately a little blonde girl popped out and tackled her, causing them both to fall onto the soft grass.

"Mommy! You came back!" The little girl, who looked around five, squealed as she hugged the girl tightly.

"Of course i did Kitty!" the girl said pulling her mask completely off, reveling a dark skinned girl with long black hair that fell down her back.

Damien looked at Dick "Why is that girl calling her mommy? They clearly aren't related."

Nightwing shushed him and continued to watch the two females.

"Did you bring me anything mommy?!" The little girl asked excitedly.

The girl chuckled and nodded "As a matter of fact I did! But you only get it if you can show me the ariel twirl you were supposed to practice."

In childish excitement Kitty ran over to their practice areas. The petite little girl climbed the ladder 50 feet in the air and grabbed the acrobat pole.

"Are you looking?" Kitty said fearlessly looking down at her.

The girl first checked to make sure the net was properly secured before looking back up. "Of course I am, baby girl!"

Kitty nodded and leaped off the platform, grabbing the pole she swung her tiny body back and forth trying to get momentum. Soon she swung up as far as she could and let go, flipping her body upside down. She attempted to twirl herself in a full 1080 degree spin. Kitty only landed half the spin and fell, landing hard onto the net below.

"Ow!" She cried out as she landed. The girl quickly ran over and helped her up.

"Does anything hurt?!" The girl asked, quickly checked Kitty's body for invisible injuries, much like a worried mother.

"Only my tushie , I'm ok." The Kitty huffed. "What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't swing with enough power" The girl smiled admiring the little ones wanting to do better. "You got fly off with everything in that little body of yours"

"That move is impossible!" Robin muttered as him and Nightwing watched the scene from the shadows.

"It sure does look that way" Nightwing whispered back. They both quieted as the girl started talking again.

"Here Kitten I'll show you" She said getting up and climbing the ladder. When she got to the 50 feet platform, she waved down to Kitty.

"Pay attention baby girl" She said leaping off the platform grabbing the acrobat bar. She swung herself higher and higher until her body was nearly upside down. On the last swing she let go catapulting her body upside down. She twirled herself with exact precision, a full 1080 degree spin before she let the trick go. She flipped back upwards and quickly grabbed the next bar. She swung herself onto the next platform and landed with out a sound.

"Yay! Go mommy!" Kitty cheered, jumping up and down. The girl smiled and came down.

"See what I mean Kitty? All the strength you can muster up goes into that trick" She explained, climbing down the ladder.

"Ok mommy I'll keep trying." Kitty looked up at her and gave her the baby doe eyes "May I have my present now?"

The girl chuckled and took off her back pack. "Yes you may."

She pulled out a shiny pink leotard with sparkly patterns of red roses sewn in.

Kitty squealed loudly and hugged/tackled her again "Thank you so so so much!"

The girl smiled "I finally saved up enough to buy it for your next performance. I also got you this." she said pulling out a pinkish red skirt and tied it around Kitty's waist.

"See, when you do land the trick this skirt will look so beautiful" The girl said.

Kitty smiled excitedly and took the costume, she ran inside to immediately try it on.

The girl chuckled softly, but her laughing died down when the two heroes walked out of the shadows.

"What the hell are you two doing here!?" She asked standing up, pointing an accusing finger. "So help me, if Kitty sees you, I'll wring your necks!"

Nightwing holds his hands up in defense "Hey! We were just making sure you weren't followed by Battle employees"

She lowered her hand and sighed "They wouldn't expect a two bit circus performer to commit such a sophisticated heist"

"Two-bit! I've never seen another person complete that complicated ariel move you just did!" Robin exclaimed.

"Quiet pint size! I created the move myself, so no one would know how." She said pushing them both back into the shadows. "I don't want Kitty to know your here!"

"Why does she call you "Mommy"? You're obviously not her mother" Nightwing asked curiously.

She glares at him "As far as she knows or ever will know, I am her mother"

"Fine! But can you at least tell us why?" Nightwing implored "I'm curious!"

"Curiosity killed the cat" Robin said rolling his eyes.

"Stupidity killed the cat, curiosity was framed" The girl muttered.

They all turned when Kitty ran out of the camper.

"Mommy, look!" The little girl squealed running over to them, right as she got in front of her, Kitty did a front flip. "I love my new uniform!"

She quickly turns and smiles at her "You look adorable Kitten, why don't you go show Big Al?"

Kitty nods and runs over to where the strong man was.

"So what's your name?" Nightwing said standing to close behind her. "Since we're keeping you from being arrested"

"You can call me Raven" She jumped slightly at his close proximity. "And thanks for that by the way"

"No problem" Robin shrugs "Now, what happened with Kitty?"

"Her mother died the day after she was born and it was all my fault." Raven sighed heavily.

"Did you kill her?" Robin said, nonchalantly swinging his katana.

"Of course not! I may be a thief, but I'm no murderer!" Raven huffed

"Then how is it your fault?" Nightwing said urging her to tell the story.

"A few days after Kitty was born, her mother was taking a walk down a street with her. I saw a man following her with a gun. I chased after him, I don't know why, there's nothing I could have done. I saw him gun her down in the alley, shot her in cold blood, took her purse and left the baby to die with her mother. I ran over and saw the life drain from her eyes, all the while she begged me to protect her baby. So I did the only thing I could do, I took the baby and brought her here." While Raven spoke a look of pure sadness and regret washed over her face.

"But her dying wasn't your fault" Robin said gently

"Yes it is!" She bit out fiercely "I could have told someone, a cop, anyone! But no, I followed like a stupid kid. I felt powerless."

"How old were you when this happened?" Nightwing asked

"14, I had been working for the circus for 3 years at the ti-"

"But what about your family and Kitty's father?" Robin interjected

"My family died in front of me" she said in a tone that broached no further discussion. "I looked for months to find Kitty's family, but I couldn't find anything and no one came looking for her and I was not going to let her live in an orphanage like I did"

The two heroes just stared at her, she had had so much stuff thrown at her at such a young age, but here she was working to take care of herself and her adopted daughter.

"I'll tell you what " Raven said shaking her head to rid herself of bad thoughts. "Why don't you there come see our show tomorrow night? Some famous prince is supposed to be there"

"Uhh we're kinda supposed to be anonymous" Nightwing smirked

Raven rolled her eyes "Just show up out of costume. I won't recognize you anyway"

Both heroes looked wary, they all snapped when they felt a black shadow walk up behind them.

"We'll be there" The Dark Knight stated simply. Raven nodded as the three heroes disappeared into the night.

"Well that was odd. Even for us" Robin said as the drove in the Batmobile to the batcave.

"For once he's right, that girl was something else" Nightwing replied, his glassing over slightly.

"You seem to like to be close to her Dick?" Batman asked, smirking ever so slightly.

"What? No!...You noticed?" Grayson sputtered blushing for the first time in years.

"Everyone noticed" Damien smirked "So are we going to the show tomorrow?"

"Yes, the prince coming to the show tomorrow is an infamous African warlord, known for his warped sense of entertainment." Bruce Wayne said while starting to video chat Alfred "No telling what could happen."

"So I'm assuming you want a full background sir?" Alfred's British accented voice filled the car.

The next night Raven was in her camper preparing for the show. She was just finishing up her face paint, when Kitty came out of her bunk in the camper.

"Done!" Kitty twirled in her new outfit. "How do I look mommy?"

"Beautiful Kitten, absolutely beautiful" Raven said, her heart filled with pride. "Now lets go out there and knock 'em dead!"

Kitty led the way outside into the big tent. There they waited for there turn to perform. When that time came they leaped out into the center ring. As they practiced, the two girls turned and faced the prince. He was younger than Raven had expected, maybe a few years older than her.

"And now introducing the Fabulous Kitty and Raven!" The ringleader shouted into his mike when the two were in place. "Watch as they mystify you with death-defying tricks that can barely be believed!'

Kitty bowed as they practiced but Raven simply nodded her head. She would bow to no person. Never again.

The audience gasped a little at her refusal to bow.

"Girls got gumption" An old, grey haired man in the upper seats said to himself.

"You got that right" A blonde young man all the way across the tent chuckled.

"She's going to get herself killed!" Robin muttered into his earpiece, from above the crowd hiding in the rafters, to his two disguised companions below.

All three watched as the girls started their act. It was amazing, they did flips and tricks to rival the late great Flying Greysons. Bruce Wayne, disguised as the elderly man, was very impressed with Raven. She seemed driven, her determined showed through her with every trick she landed.

For their final act the two girls climbed up on to the platforms, Kitty on a 40 foot one and Raven higher up on the 60 foot platform.

"See them do their final trick, a 1080 degree aerial twirl never successful done before!" The ringmaster shouted into the microphone.

"That should be impossible." Bruce muttered slightly

"Just watch" Nightwing smirked as the two got ready. Simultaneously they both jumped off their respective platforms, they grabbed the bars and in perfect sink launched themselves up and upside down, twirling. Ravens' body flew almost directly above Kitty's and their skirts flowed perfectly around them.

The audience cheered uproariously as the two wonders landed the trick. Smiling and waving as they climbed back down to stand beside the Ringmaster.

"What did you think your highness?" The ringmaster asked, facing the young warlord. "Were they not absolutely amazing?!"

The prince was still for a moment then leaned over to whisper in his advisors ear.

"Prince Magumb enjoyed the show" The advisor said in a heavy accent. The crowd and all the performers relaxed a bit. "But he would like to see one more performance"

"Wha-What would that be your highness?" The ringmaster stuttered nervously into the microphone.

"He would like to see the young girl tightrope walk, with out the net"

Kitty and Raven both visibly stiffened. "Buh- but your highness, that's incredibly dangerous?!"

The prince scowled and spoke for himself "I wish to see the girl defy death! Is that not what you said?"

"Robin this could get dicey, be on guard" Bruce said urgently into his earpiece.

"Buh buh but your highness..-" The ringmaster started to sputter

"If without the net is too dangerous, set the net on fire!" Prince Magumb shouted as he stood in his seat.

They all gasped as the Prince sat down smirking slightly.

"WHAT?!" Raven shouted loudly "There is NO way in HELL she is doing that!"

"Raven please, we must do what the prince wants" The ringmaster said glaring at her.

"I don't give a rat's ass what the prince want! Kitty will not be going up there!" Raven grabbed the ringleaders collar and pulled him down to look her in the eye "Prince Magumb will be going on that death trap himself before I'll let her go up there!"

The Advisor spoke out after witnessing this altercation "Your performer has been very disrespectful to Prince Magumb!" The prince leaned over and whispered in his ear. "He now requires that she do the trick and is hoping she fails!"

Raven was still for a moment and then walked over to the net grabbing one of the fire twirlers fire sticks. "Tell your prince I'll do it." she proclaimed, throwing the stick onto the net, catching it net on fire.

"She's going to get killed!" Dick gasped.

"Robin only help if things go haywire, I want to see how she handles this" Bruce said steely watching as the girl climbed up to the tight rope. Flames from the net flew up and almost touched the thin rope.

The heat from the flames caused Raven to sweat, she hoped her feet didn't slip. She slowly walked onto the rope, one foot in front of the other. 'So far so good' She thought as she made it a quarter of the way across. He eyes trailed down to the prince, who looked fairly unimpressed.

'This will show him!' She thought as she leaned forward and flipped herself onto her hands and grabbed the rope with her hands. She spread her legs to do a full split in the air. The crowd gasped as she hand walked over the next quarter of the way. At the half way point she flipped back onto her feet, just barely making it.

The flames had gotten much higher and had started to singe the rope a few feet from where Raven now stood. The weight of her landing back on her feet had caused it to snap. The crowed gasped loudly as she started to fall.

Robin was right about to leap into action when Raven's hand grabbed onto the spilt rope and stopped her fall a few feet before she hit the flaming net. In a very Batman-esque fashion, she rapped the rope around her hand and swung her self up and onto the platform on the other side.

Raven's heart pounded as she sat down on the platform. The audience cheered wildly at her successful crossing.

Prince Magumb leaned into whisper to his advisor "This girl, this Raven, I like her. She has a tenacity that the girls at home do not have. She would make me an excellent wife."

"She would your highness, but she is much too strong willed" The advisor warned nervously. "You need a far more docile woman."

"No! I want her! And I will have her whether she wants to or not" Magumb glowered at his advisor and sat back watching the girl intently. "Get her for me"

Batman looked up at Robin and then over to Nightwing. He got up and started to leave towards the back entrance. "She's better than you two described."

"Isn't she?" Grayson smirked as he followed

"Calm down lover boy, she's way too reckless." Robin said, landing next to the two heroes. They both started to pull off their disguises and suit up.

"Magumb seems a little too interested from the looks of him" Bruce Wayne spoke as he pulled on his cowl. "We need to find out what he's up to, before we start worrying about the girl."

"He'll be feeling insulted at this point and will likely try to recollect his manhood." Robin mused a loud.

"So he's going to go stop by Kitty and Raven's trailer!" Nightwing exclaimed, pulling off his blonde wig letting his black hair fall free and donning his mask.

"Lets go visit." Batman's voice changer said an octave lower.

The three masked heroes ran through the shadows towards the open area where the trailer resided. The prince and his royal escorts have been them to it.

"What I wouldn't give to hear that conversation" Nightwing muttered. Him and batman quickly look down as Robin pulls out a small speaker. Slowly he turns it on and they all start to hear the prince talk.

"I bugged her camper" Damien shrugged simply. They all start to listen in.

"My liege as your trusted advisor, I must speak against this..." The man sputtered as they walked towards the camper.

"Enough! I wish her to be my bride and that is what she shall be!" Prince Magumb voice imposed, causing his advisor to visibly flinch.

When they reached the camper on of Magumb's servants knocked on her door. A few seconds later Raven flung the door open.

"Yes?" She said quickly a bit taken aback by the sight of the warlord. The prince didn't immediately respond as he looked up and down her body, clothed only in a pair of loose short shorts and a tank top.

"May I help you!?" Raven said a bit louder getting annoyed at his gawking.

"Yes you may. I came to apologize for risking your life earlier." Magumb said, with a self indulged look on his face. "I am not used to people speaking to me the way you have."

"Yes you probably aren't" Raven said closing the door slowly. The prince shot his hand out to stop the door. He was surprisingly strong for someone who had everything done for him.

"Wait!" He said quickly, stepping up and closer to her, his tall frame imposing hers. "I wanted to ask you to dinner tomorrow night to discuss my apology."

Raven was taken by surprise, she had expected him to visit her, but she expected more empty threats than a dinner invitation. She looked around at all his royal escorts, they all had pleading looks on their faces, begging her silently to say yes. She looked back up at the prince, who wasn't even looking at her, he was looking down at her cleavage, with a smirk as if he expected her to fawn at his feet.

Placing her hand on her chest to cover her cleavage and snapping her other fingers to get him to look up, she responded "If you could kindly keep your eyes on my face while we speak! No, i will have to decline your invitation"

Magumb looked shocked at her decision, any girl in his country would either swoon at the idea of him asking or would be far to afraid to say no. This girl needed to be taught a lesson in humility.

He grabbed the arm of the hand that was snapping in front of his face and yanked her into his chest. Wrapping his other arm around her waist, crushing her thin form in to his. "You will live to regret that answer bird girl, because I will have you. I always get what I want!"

Thinking quickly, Raven forced her body to relax instead of stiffen at the unwanted contact. His grip on her loosened, thinking she had given up. She leaned closer into him as if to whisper something alluring in his ear. "Not. Today."

She jumped back suddenly out of his hold and pushed him off the front steps of her camper. Magumb stumbled back and was caught by his advisor before he fell in to the dirt, ruining his royal robes. Everyone gasped loudly, shocked at the girls disrespect towards their ruler.

"Now get away from my property!" Raven growled, slamming the door closed.

The young warlord became furious and pounded on her front door "You will regret this day, insolent girl! I have made a powerful new friend in this city, and I will not leave until I have what is mine!" He stopped pounding and dusted his ruined clothing off with his hands. He leaned forward and said through the door. "Now, my fierce Raven, you have involved little Kitty in the crossfire"

"You lay one hand on her head and I will hunt you down and kill you myself!" Raven shouted though the door. The prince chuckled softly and walked away followed closely by his escorts.

Batman looked over at a fuming Nightwing. "Robin is right, this girl seems to find trouble"

"We've got to find out who this powerful friend of his is!" Robin said putting his speaker back into his utility belt.

"But what if Battle or Magumb sends someone to attack her and Kitty!?" Nightwing exclaims his anger almost boiling over.

"Fine. You stay here and watch the trailer while Robin and I follow the prince." Batman responds gruffly, as he and Robin get up and take off after the prince.

Nightwing stayed hidden and watched the trailer, making sure no one came to attack his girl. 'My girl? Where did that come from?!'

Raven sat down on her small bed inside the trailer, trying to get her heart beat down to a normal pace. She quickly ran through her options. She could sit here and wait for the prince to come back and take her by force or she could follow him and find out who his powerful friend was. Maybe she could warn batman about it.

Her decision already made, she got up and started to redress in her black clothing. The thought of warning The Bat brought thoughts of Nightwing to her mind. She wondered if he had seen the show or if he was impressed by what he saw. That thought sent shivers down her spine, something about Nightwing caused her heart to beat a bit quicker. 'I wonder if he's cuter without the mask' she mused, pulling her mask on.

'No! Bad Raven! You do not think the masked vigilante is cute!" She shook her head rapidly to rid her thoughts. The only thing that mattered in her life right now was Kitty. Which meant no boys, especially boys who leapt off buildings.

After checking to see that Kitty was still asleep and kissing her sleeping forehead, she walked out of the camper and locked the door. She looked around and ran in the direction she saw the prince leave in. Nightwing followed her at a moderate distance curious as to what she was doing. Raven climbed onto the rooftop and watched the prince get into his car below.

She ran across the roofs of buildings tailing the car as it drove quickly through the streets. This made her feel unbelievable free, jumping and flipping across the gaps between buildings. It gave her the feeling that if she jumped high enough she could fly away like an actual raven bird.

Nightwing watched in awe as Raven's skill, she made it look so easy, like she wasn't even trying. He followed her across rooftops, hiding every time she looked back or stopped. He just wanted to keep watching, noting all her movements and the way her body worked as it made all her twists and turns. He hoped one day he could hold her against him. When the warlord touched her in that manner it sent a heat through his body that he couldn't quite place, but it infuriated him.

While Nightwing was lost in his thoughts, Raven stopped and watched as the princes car drove into a huge skyscraper. This skyscraper was coincidentally the one she had robbed last night. Battle HQ.

Raven shrugged and was about ready to leap year off the ledge she was on when a hand grabbed her arm. She sent a quick roundhouse kick towards where the attackers face should be. When he ducked she swept his legs out from underneath him, causing him to fall hard on his ass.

"I give! I give! I don't want to fight you" Nightwing said rubbing his sore behind.

"Why do you keep following me!?" Raven whisper-shouted at him, careful not to wake the tenets of the roof they were now on.

"You were about to go into the building you robbed last night!" He whispered-shouted back. "We can't protect you from Magumb in jail!"

"I don't need, nor did i ask for your protection!" Raven said, pushing his chest. He grabbed her hands and pulled her close to him.

"You have no idea what Magumb will do if he gets what he wants." Nightwing whispered softly. "I can't let that happen."

Raven was stunned, her mouth hung open slightly. As soon as she collected her thoughts she pushed him away. "I can protect myself, Thanks!"

Dick's chest fell slightly. He shook his head