Nora lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, her gaze drifting into the distance.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQAPDcMi1g
Her hair fanned out across the pillow like ripples of soft golden waves.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ktkGk8eX1
She didn’t move much—only her chest gently rose and fell with each breath.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ceb6bcPNG
She seemed to be spacing out, or flipping through some distant page in her mind.
Tim turned off the small bedside lamp, walked around to the other side of the bed, and lay down carefully.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnO0EDLxBOq
His arm naturally brushed against Nora’s, their body heat quietly connecting.
But Nora didn’t turn to look at him.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vW1xc5Wnd
Still staring at the blank ceiling above, she asked softly,138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtXbbluhL1
“Tim, don’t you want to ask me some questions?”
Tim tilted his head, his blue eyes resting on her profile.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkse95QmLqo
Her tone wasn’t too light or heavy—like she was speaking to a stranger.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9M8z4CVd4
Or maybe she was deliberately tossing a stone into his heart, just to see what kind of ripple it would cause.
He knew what she meant. About her past.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJSe4UPcwd
That past she’d never talked about—but one he had long suspected was far from simple.
Tim stayed silent for a moment, not answering right away.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsNsBuvkbZ
Ever since they got together, he had made a decision:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5rdaJrN2l
If she wanted to talk, he’d listen.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPmZj3XHuY
But he wouldn’t pry.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ta1ZP3CKK
Because he could guess—it wasn’t going to be a fairytale.
And the fact that she made it here, stayed by his side—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZoKPSjgFE
It already meant that whatever world she came from… it didn’t have a happy ending.
His blue eyes hesitated as they looked at her, unsure how to begin.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xKrJyqXBR
Just as he struggled for words, Nora turned her head and met his gaze.
Her green eyes sparkled slightly—and then she smiled.
“Tim, you don’t have to be so cautious,” she said gently, as if finally opening a door in her heart.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMq0PJCo4ol
“That part of my memory… it’s from a long, long time ago.”
She rolled onto her side, drawing closer to him, her voice dropping lower.
“The truth is, I believe in Batman more than you think.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2RONZ1U1l
More than any of you think... maybe even more than he believes in himself.”
As the words left her lips, she sounded like she was twisting a tongue-twister.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnghD9XD3w
Or like she’d revealed too much too quickly, blinking in slight surprise.
Tim was stunned. He didn’t expect her to describe her connection to Batman like that.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPu6lHHEXV
He opened his mouth, but realized—he didn’t need to say anything.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4K2tvamGs
Because in that moment, she had already told him more than he ever hoped to hear.
She trusted them.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59vIP53Aop
She chose to stay.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5LAwr3pv3
And he would do everything he could to protect her present.
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138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYm8TijVFdI
One Day
Nora was lying on Tim’s lap.
Tim: “Nora, are you sure you want to talk? You know Batman…”138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHxJm1qsSK
Nora glanced up at him with those green eyes:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWMitqH0fJ
“You mean the cold, reclusive, control-freak part?”
She reached up and took his hand.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qI30NKGV2
“Tim, I am trying to seduce Batman’s protégé here. The least I can do is tell a bit of the truth, right?”
Nora grinned mischievously.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTpalJ5Cl0
Tim glared at her.
A few days earlier, Nora had suggested:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOV2utRWUqJ
“You ask, I’ll answer. I’ll try my best to tell the truth—and you can decide what to report to Batman.”
Tim had hesitated.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEr9wdxp06d
But Nora said, “Let me guess—Batman asked you to write a report, right, Timmy?138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXkzdSdr8d
If you don’t, he’ll come in person. I know that much.”
“About who I am…” she said, still staring upward,138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGTztCGsYh
“This is a story I never planned to tell.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEO0eTyImE
But now… I’m ready.”
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LVjB5oFNa
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qg0ojFdb7
Nora tilted her head slightly, as if drawing long-forgotten fragments from deep memory.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PLoIGoMYx
Her tone carried a playful ambiguity.
“Just to be clear, I wasn’t born in Gotham with those memories.”138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgOP2BnSiT
“I only remembered later—much later.”
Tim said nothing. Just listened intently.
“It all came back when I saw Batman for the first time. I was sixteen.”138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8HR8IHlk1
She chuckled. “I remember it was after a ball game. I came home late, took a shortcut—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5h3wHlFlU
and then I saw Batman and Robin.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjeGfv4SFp
And I passed out.”
Tim’s expression changed.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0c3CkJzCj
That long-buried memory—suddenly cracked open by her words.
He remembered that patrol.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaMNxT0wCN
Not a particularly memorable mission.
A girl appeared at the end of an alley.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXBnAobdYz
Blonde hair. Wide eyes. Frozen in place.
And then—she fainted.
He hadn’t even had time to say a word.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nDaeuVfvh
He caught her instinctively. She looked like any normal teenage girl.
He took her to the nearest hospital.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSoUU6Mr44
At the time, he even told Bruce, “She probably just got nervous.”
Now, the blonde woman in front of him smiled gently.
“Yes, Tim. That was the first time we met,” she said softly.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwKfxshATT
“A flood of memories hit me all at once. My brain felt like it was exploding… so I fainted. Very dramatic, huh?”
Tim said nothing.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvY27L3MuE
But in his mind, he could hear the rain from that night all over again.
“…Why would seeing Batman trigger your memories?” he finally asked, voice cautious.
Nora blinked, her smile widening.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz58kpjoJpm
“Ah ah, I’ll get to that~”138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7C9VENdPe
Her voice teased at the end—like she was baiting an audience, or trying to make Tim squirm.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEI7tFQVrp
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Qm8NHmWpp
Nora’s gaze drifted into the distance, as if recalling memories from another lifetime.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhF02aTxxdB
Her expression softened, eyes unfocused—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHM0hCVVgeC
As if looking through time and air, at a world that no longer existed.
Her voice was slow, almost like she was telling someone else’s story.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTr9q7ao5N
Or trying to comfort herself.
“In my previous life, I was born into a very ordinary family.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BghnxKjAL
Just my parents and a sister.”
Her lips curled slightly, like the simple statement brought images to her mind—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5ykgwG6SR
the three of them making breakfast, watching cartoons on the couch.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFOUhUIKAp
Nothing dramatic. No sorrow. Just warmth, familiar and everyday.
“Our family had one special trait—probably written into our DNA.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Elzl4EjKx
We loved children.”
Her tone held pride.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgdFkxqSGb
Not about noble bloodlines or prestige, but a kind of inherited gentleness—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5SL9qm022
a deep affection for life, and an instinct to remain patient through both tantrums and laughter.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrAgRC7PWp
“We ran a kindergarten. There were always kids around.”
She let out a soft laugh, part fondness, part exasperation—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BTaaPjT8e
as if that school had been the center of her universe:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uHzJAIQij
laughter, arguments, the creak of rocking horses forming the soundtrack of her days.
“I was taking care of little kids from a very young age.”
Her tone was casual, but it carried a sense of responsibility and pride.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xNu2Wxljv
She probably wasn’t even in grade school yet—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbe37M0O3eh
but she already knew how to hold a crying baby, how to coax a fussy toddler into eating.
“Kids are the cutest,”138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxEgLM8Mzm
she said warmly—like the words came straight from her soul.
Her eyes softened. Her lips curved gently.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLaIiInXSe
A tiny glint sparkled in her gaze.
Nora squinted slightly, still lying on Tim’s lap,138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoe8Kd3Fd5s
though her eyes seemed focused on the past—where there was no blood, no chaos,138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRJN0ldsKS
just children running across rubber mats.
“Our world was peaceful.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAy0aZPiOqh
No crime. No supervillains.”
Her voice was calm—stating it as if it were the most natural thing.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9LZDjX1Nl
A world without Gotham.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNGcWS7Xip
No blood-soaked nights.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfCBqsPVJg
No alarms wailing.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZuQyph2gk
Just a place where parents could safely let their kids climb slides and laugh freely.
“My sister, though… had a hobby you’d never guess, Tim.”
She finally looked at him again, her tone turning cheeky, a mischievous glint in her voice.
“My sister was a huge Batman fan.”
Equal parts exasperated and proud, she spoke like someone who’d been thoroughly indoctrinated.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHfqIktVh3
She’d watched every movie, read every comic.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RMtu3tMTU
Nora, of course, got dragged along for the ride.
Tim blinked. “But… that makes no sense. No crime means no Batman. He wouldn’t exist.”
His voice faltered, like his logic circuits had jammed.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4P4pW25jd
He furrowed his brows, trying to make her story fit his world—but it didn’t.
Nora laughed.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vPzEKUGqz
“Exactly, Tim. In my world, Batman is just a comic book character.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKo0htF6ZgD
He’s a detective series, actually.”
She beamed at him, her tone teasing but affectionate.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejwoIyXs7R
As if to say, “Yes, I came from a world you can't imagine—but I really did.”
“My sister loved Batman so much.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbGZfJmquv
She watched every movie, bought every comic.”
Her words quickened, like she still remembered her sister yelling at the screen—"Bruce, stop bullying Robin!"—while munching chips.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOb3rYDAeGc
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfvVqzqLi5
“She rubbed it off on me. I couldn’t help it.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGFrNlCiY3
With her raving about him daily, it was impossible not to start liking Batman too.”
She shrugged innocently, like trying to explain how she became a semi-Batfan by default.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKbyLjAB1P
But Tim could tell—she truly loved those stories.
“I could even name all the Batman actors in order,”138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz46I7hNvcF
she added proudly, like it was a party trick, or a badge of honor.
Nora continued:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08Yn2sao0W
“At night, we’d put Batman movies on during dinner.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvp51ekdbt5
Imagine eating while hearing how high Gotham’s crime rate is.”138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHC2JAyd8v4
Then she chuckled. “My dad would always ask:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWl9B42JS0V
‘Does anyone even live in that city anymore?’”
Her voice softened with the memory—nostalgia for a world that felt so ordinary.
“From a young age, my sister collected all the merch—comics, figures, posters.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBI9BJiBKT
Her room was plastered with Batman.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfDIem3e15
Every morning I woke up to a black-suited man silently staring at me.”
She burst out laughing.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYT7wF9ohj
A childhood trauma, perhaps—but clearly not one she regretted.
Tim suddenly thought of something. He asked softly:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5ffbc3Ypk
“Why did you write… fanfics about Batman?”
Still lying on his lap, she answered slowly:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGtiQ5rsIT
“I needed to muddy the water.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCa7ALdYF1
Crystal-clear water has no fish.”
Tim’s eyes widened.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEyGvKQwk2
It clicked instantly.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOmIg93cwj
Nora had deliberately drawn attention away from the vigilantes’ true identities.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJa6OmrOOP
By flooding the internet with chaotic stories, relationships, and drama—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ2QEEUyyi
she distracted people from uncovering the truth beneath the masks.
She added,138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinhiWDWcBj
“When I was just a small-time writer, my fluff had only two readers.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIRyfoN9I3
That was no good… So I took the dark path instead.”
Her voice held resignation—and a bit of self-deprecating humor.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfYArvJhdL
Like someone who only meant to cause a little confusion,138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1ozJjwrrq
but got dragged deeper and deeper into fandom, until there was no going back.
She looked at him seriously.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJIuj0D0J1
“You better not tell anyone.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgK1giaxtx
I never wrote about you, okay?”
Tim couldn’t tell if that was a plea… or a threat.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4u2Y6xYl6n
So he simply nodded.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNravDPwNzM
Tim looked at her, blue eyes focused.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxEgKgubUF
He asked, voice quiet:
“So…138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXNstb19ND
Were you happy?138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9GizyIP0n
In that world?”
Nora nodded gently.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMNcPI7tfa
Her tone was soft, filled with an indescribable longing.
“Mm.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ29sbe4Jju
Those were the happiest fifteen years of my life.”
But then—138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMzGs7651P
she turned her face toward his stomach, burying herself there.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaadyu8PScM
Her voice came muffled:
“Too bad, Tim…138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsUIdrfKxR
The apocalypse came.”
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7ati61fs8
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaC4M2KltHQ
and then Add to home screen.