Four years ago, he really hadn’t been legal.
He’d just turned nineteen, barely starting to find balance between nightly patrols and his daytime identity.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkV2IlyHul1
His face still held traces of youth, and his voice hadn’t quite steadied the way it had now.
But how did Nora know?
Tim mulled it over.
She wasn’t a “research-type” writer—not the kind who cross-referenced dates or analyzed timelines.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmyJsXRdqo
Most of her work leaned romantic, even fantastical. Not logic-heavy at all.
Did she deduce it from photos?
From height ratios? Facial bone structure?219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoawsu6c7T7
Uniform updates? Timeline of field appearances?
He ran through a few technical explanations—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcw3CBULfWN
but none of them quite fit.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYz8gvHLOd
She didn’t come off as someone who calculated.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoGk0plh0v
She was more like someone whose instinct hit so close to the truth, it made your scalp tingle.
Tim kept thinking.
His thoughts wouldn’t settle—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwhyeT1SAe
like a jigsaw puzzle halfway done: some pieces jammed, others suddenly clicking together.
Wait.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJFzwATwvN
He was an adult now.
Would Nora… know?
Would she, one random morning with her coffee, suddenly realize—
that the character she once refused to write because “he’s a kid”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4T08ii3LZG
was now… of age?
Would she start writing about him?
He wasn’t curious about the content—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3ACyASnZf
No, this was just… a professional assessment.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UyQVn3O2L
Yes, a risk projection, not personal interest.
And if she did start writing…219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZOPzbCZmN
that would mean she’d been keeping an eye on him.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIi3tLCa4Ce
Wouldn’t it?
Wait—no. Stop.
I should go to bed.
Tim loudly told himself:219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvEyxSH6xD
It’s 3:42 A.M.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8pKhAWgpf
I’ve already reviewed thirty-eight anonymous files today.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJhjosTdrj
If I don’t sleep now, I’ll misread intel tomorrow.
Why am I even wondering if Nora would start writing fanfic about me?219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJIlAQRbjP
Why do I… care?
No. This was professional anxiety.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFfRGoayQX
Part of Bat-Family information security protocols.
Yes.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29glOkoT3N
Sleep. No more browsing.
Tim slammed the laptop shut—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8rCrdgVOt
as if slamming the door on temptation itself.
The chair creaked behind him as he stood,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fbmdOD6an
feeling like someone who’d spent the entire night being silently stared at.
No one can know about this.
He walked toward the door, steps slow—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWP0LAYlWrc
each one suppressing the mental image rising uninvited to the surface.
Finn’s future bride candidate…
was a top-tier Batman erotica author.
And not just any writer—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdXRHK4v66
the kind who casually wrote things like,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpaq6R17HE
“He’s a kid. I don’t want to commit a crime.”
Just thinking about it made Tim feel like breaking into pieces.
If Damian ever found out—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkv3lr2LqLm
the kid would probably laugh himself breathless, then go ask Bruce:219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHYu9z8m4a
“So… what do you think of Finn’s teacher writing fanfic about you and… yourself?”
No.
This had to be buried in the night.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXDFDTHSDt
No one in the Bat-Family could ever know.
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5L2xIhbmr
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIUz9KJpBw
Tim shoved the whole thing to the back of his mind.
Like stashing a bizarre dream into a folder marked219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2CsbFijER
“Low Risk / No Action”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzrVhmoBHN
and quietly minimizing the window.
Looking back, he figured maybe he’d overreacted a bit to those green eyes.
That day she stood up and scanned him?219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwUK2fEZkV
Maybe it had just been a teacher’s instinct.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKprzm7cYtL
Maybe he had just been wound too tight.
At least now he knew her biggest secret.
He honestly hadn’t expected that inside her computer,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR8bOUJ2BY
there weren’t blueprints for bombs, or surveillance tapes—
but instead—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxPhH1Nluw
the entire archive of a legendary Batman fanfiction author.
A legendary Batman fanfiction author.
Just thinking those words gave him a mild headache.
Who would’ve guessed someone like that was hiding in a kindergarten?
Blonde hair. Green eyes.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcetc2AQIs
Gentle smile.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvUa4eUn0w
Painstaking lesson plans.
And then at night, under an anonymous handle,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznxg2K06Km
she’d write Nightwing until the man couldn’t breathe.
Still, Tim decided—he had to keep monitoring her.
It was a precaution. A professional assessment.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3q658hTCo
Lack of malicious intent didn’t mean lack of risk.
The better she was at writing…219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUjAot7dLt
the more likely she might one day write something too accurate.
So he checked her system.
Installed a barely-there monitoring script—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJp0vpS2bBW
so subtle it wouldn’t interfere with daily use.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnROizKYQyW
It would only trigger if specific keywords were typed.
If anything questionable showed up,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWi5cyumiB
Tim would be notified first.
Not automatically blocked.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldSEQQzin9
He’d assess it himself.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRUHdjZQ0H
A baseline courtesy—to respect creative freedom.
This should be enough, he thought.
Leaning back in his chair,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsY1wkqIbsT
he wrapped up the day’s backup logs219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57oLZUXRtw
and turned to other vigilante data reports.
But unfortunately…219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4syFeYE2Pf
Tim relaxed too soon.
Some things only happen right when you think you’re safe.
Like an alarm that hasn’t gone off in ages—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PbAkGlIZh
only to explode in the middle of dead silence.
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NtoARYG11
One week later—
Tim’s computer lit up in warning.
Not a regular alert.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdr31szvPC
It was one of his high-priority personal triggers.
It popped from the corner of his screen—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gLRtxQZ7d
flashing red.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Fa6PL9Eeg
Loud system ping.
Tim reacted instantly.
Fingers darted to the trackpad on reflex.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksiQd1uUVC
Eyes locked on the window as it expanded.
The monitored user had typed flagged keywords:
gun. black market. bullets.
Tim’s breath caught.
He stared at the words—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FZjyxVRJK
blank for a second—then rapidly expanded the full input log.
Nora Virell219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZhPZ5etyA
Search time: 11:42 P.M.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQT39iD5EE
Device: Personal computer.
Entered queries:
- “Where to buy bullets in Gotham right now”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgyVgBXZ0B
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwXL36yQAt - “Black market weapon price list”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnS7IgFqDXC
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmlDsBXLmc - “Handgun usage tutorial”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFI1jvgIiK
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0pc60yKqK
Tim stared at the screen—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpwisLIfQR
and felt his chest begin to tighten.
Tim was thinking.
He didn’t jump to conclusions.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdL6YovmRXm
Not right away.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBs6UMeQFm
Like always, he mentally arranged all the possible explanations in rapid succession.
He tried to reason it out—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTz9JhkaN35
because reason was the only shield he trusted when facing the unknown.
Could it be for a story?
He’d seen plenty of creators do research for plot accuracy.
Maybe she was writing a scene about a vigilante infiltrating the black market.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaY2CTL22f
Maybe a character was trying to stop an arms deal.
Something like that.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kk1QIxh4l
Trying to recreate that sense of danger.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAPA5z6dOY
Or exploring a character’s discomfort with firearms—how they reacted to pulling the trigger.
He’d read those kinds of stories before.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjTUlIDDkr
Some of them were frighteningly realistic.
But unfortunately—Nora proved him wrong.
She wasn’t just skimming scenarios.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhGG3NWOYI
She wasn’t just dipping in and out.
She was seriously browsing.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3aXeWfndt
Spending over thirty seconds per page.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvheFOf07aX
Even bookmarking a few of them.
She was looking at firearm weights, manufacturing years, and production companies.
Her search terms included:
- “Glock old vs new model differences”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KiZ54n1Ok
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhhJWcG5Ga - “Small caliber vs large caliber”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dDTRLUr8n
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1zzpIR4jr - “Civilian vs law enforcement firearm pricing”219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlrsBC73N0
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ycHaF6ujK
Those weren’t things a character needed to know.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZleeimvZ4m
They were the kind of details a gun user would want to understand.
Which meant—
Nora was already familiar.
This wasn’t her first time researching this.
She wasn’t gathering info for fiction.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX6KCGuFAl
She was evaluating—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPSUAGC3G6
like someone deciding whether a specific gun was worth owning.
What does she need a gun for?
The question echoed in Tim’s head.
Not just surprise anymore—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyze2xyrpS
a rising, sharp anxiety began flooding in.
She’s a teacher. Finn’s teacher.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKo6ZvJOHW
She works in a kindergarten.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjmUXilyOn
Teaches kids to draw, tells them stories, shows them how to say “I’m sorry.”
What would she need a gun for?
For protection?219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AQFQSCdzI
For something else?
Where did she learn it?219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKtIEbKqun
Has she been trained?219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy97FvGKTMq
Does she know how to use one?219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxP2zs7T438
Would she use it on someone?
Tim couldn’t let this go.
This wasn’t about artistic freedom.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4f9ZOKV5E4
This wasn’t just a passing curiosity.
This was a potential armed individual demonstrating suspicious behavior.
He needed to understand her threat level—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfm6Misgalz
and eliminate any possible risk.
That didn’t mean punishment.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6wCmmthZJ
But it did mean removing danger—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15Fkei85fJ
before it ever had the chance to grow teeth.
Tim moved his fingers.
The keyboard’s backlight flickered faintly as the windows expanded again—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMdvBxX60W
reconnecting to Nora’s online activity log.
His fingers hovered above the shortcut keys tied to his rapid-execution programs.
He had made up his mind.
His gaze was cold.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaD9zmyDd4
His tone unspoken.
This time—he was going to find out, personally.
What the hell is she planning?
219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXasuzuAOyn
and then Add to home screen.