Before Cassandra Cain was offered the mantle of Batgirl, the then-mute teenager served as one of many "orphan operatives" acting as couriers for Oracle during Gotham City's year of post-earthquake misery as a lawless and feudal "No Man's Land."

Cass's considerable martial-arts prowess made her especially valuable when put to the task of helping Batman and his allies reclaim Gotham's streets. With Barbara's blessing, she became the new Batgirl as a reward.

The daughter of assassin David Cain, Cassandra spent years being molded into the perfect assassin. Denied vocal stimuli, she was trained to communicate with violence. But Cain was unsuccessful in supplanting her conscience, and she eventually escaped, seeking asylum in Gotham. Since then, she has rapidly acquired language skills and made a few very deadly enemies, including Lady Shiva Wu-San, perhaps the greatest martial artist alive. Currently, Batgirl remains one of Batman's secret weapons in his war on crime, operating out of a scaled-down satellite Batcave modified to her needs. Otherwise, she reports to Oracle, who now knows the burden of training (and worrying over) her own costumed protege.