At 9:17 p.m., two figures silently slipped over the wall of the East End Children's Shelter School.
Dick Grayson, otherwise known as Robin, landed steadily on the lawn, his plunging V-neck uniform looking stylish in the moonlight. Barbara Gordon followed close behind, her long red hair spilling out behind her bat-eared hood.
"Are you sure about this?" Barbara whispered, adjusting the communicator beneath her mask. "We could come as visitors during the day."
"Daytime is too formal." Dick motioned for silence. "Besides, I want to see how she reacts naturally. Batman always says you should observe people when their guard is down."
"You're a voyeur." Barbara chuckled, but she was already following him. "That Raven girl is supposed to be a magical girl."
"Magic?" Dick gave a soft snort. "All I know is, unless she's like Superman, there's nothing to be afraid of. The security system the East End Police Department rebuilt has twelve cameras. We bypassed eleven."
"Where's the last one?" Barbara asked.
"In my hand." Dick waved the miniature camera he had just removed from the wall. "The battery has another three hours."
They advanced through the shadows of the classroom building. The school was far too quiet at night.
"Where is she?" Barbara asked.
"I don't know." Dick shook his head. "That's why we have to find her."
They skirted the swing set on the playground. The night breeze stirred its chains with a faint creak, and Dick suddenly stopped.
"What is it?"
"It's too quiet," he said with a frown. "It's not even that late."
"That's not strange," Barbara whispered. "Usually... kids go to bed early, don't they?"
"That's not what I mean." Dick surveyed their surroundings. There were no insects chirping, no night birds calling. Even the sound of the wind seemed filtered out.
But