The next evening, Tim was seated at the long dining table in Wayne Manor, having dinner with everyone.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ucY8QRDRG
He deliberately picked a seat at an angle, trying to keep the bruise on his cheek hidden in the shadows.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEJNAtZfd6
But it didn’t work—Jason spotted it right away.
“What happened, Timmy?” Jason asked, holding his son in his arms with a raised brow. “Did a woman hit you?”
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTCNWkjBvT
Tim pursed his lips and didn’t answer.
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Finn was in the middle of being placed into his high chair by Jason. When he looked up, his eyes widened.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHL0xVUCco
“Uncle! Your face—what happened?”
Tim tried to dodge, but the child was already leaning out of his seat.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIPR6gHJU0
“Uncle, crouch down! I’ll blow on it for you—”
With utter seriousness, Finn cupped Tim’s cheeks in his tiny hands and gently blew on them.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88ZJOHv8eF
“Pain, pain, fly away…!”
Damian froze, struggling to keep a straight face.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAI77D9aCb
Stephanie couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. “That probably works better than Alfred’s ointment.”
Tim sighed and sat back down, while the rest of the table erupted in laughter.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKReIWzkegE
Except for him, no one really cared where the bruise came from.
He chewed his bread with a blank expression—he had expected this.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoloTdjbfK2
And he had no intention of explaining.
Finn picked up his kiddie fork and stabbed a piece of pumpkin, but halfway through eating it, he stopped and turned his head.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tFcEHt4QX
“Grandpa,” he tilted his head toward Bruce, “do you have Batman’s phone number?”
The entire table fell silent.
Bruce almost choked on a spoonful of soup, coughing lightly.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcxNLZlcZq
“Ahem… Why do you ask, Finn?”
Everyone’s attention now turned to the four-year-old.
Finn frowned, visibly upset.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTV3iAFNZO
“Ms. Nora didn’t come today. The other teachers said her house got broken into, so she took the day off.”198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnRMNPa3D5
“I think she must be really sad…”
He spoke softly, poking at the mashed pumpkin with his fork.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKnfH6JVO6
“So Grandpa,” he looked up, more serious this time,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkryjaL5eOO
“can you ask Batman to catch the thief for her?”
Tim "Thief" Drake lowered his head, thinking about his unbearably adorable nephew—198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBuylVtvNw
and desperately wished he could bury his face in the mashed potatoes and disappear.
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198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVhvBsUaKi
Tim sat at his computer, writing down everything he had on Nora in his encrypted folder.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzkG5bkB3a
He opened the private page only he could access,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIL90pfb9h
created a new file, and titled it: Nora V.
Below were a few concise categories:
- Writing (Batman-related fanfiction, pen name Nightnest)198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8ywuw31qR
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAN7M5HUxZF - Preschool Teacher (legitimate, clean record)198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0O4tt9gWSS
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSAjOIJeO0 - Minimalist Lifestyle (inconsistent with disaster prep supplies)198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJMXX6b8Ws
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTCiPWj7NA - Emergency Supplies (food, water, filters, backpack, sleeping pad)198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45CeNsn23B
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmngcnKCH2 - Firearms (research history, models, manufacturers)198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZlqUygOh3
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlPqQPhjYM - Combat Techniques (Highly concerning)198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBwXfC2KZF
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQEd5Ykqm0
Tim paused, staring at the list with a deep frown.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hgQeupmMd
—It didn’t make sense. This combination couldn’t form a psychological profile.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQWyNTMUtQ
It was like someone had forcibly stitched together a “character setting.”
He anxiously stared at the screen.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQfA6dNdWN
He didn’t like this kind of unclassifiable presence—this unpredictable variable.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJAlZYRBaf
There was nothing contradictory about Nora, and yet, she didn’t match any known behavioral models.
He took a deep breath and moved the “firearms” section under “emergency supplies.”198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshq02drI2u
Because if that entire guest room really was part of her survival prepping plan,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SiLc6H2Ms
then researching guns could be a logical extension—a necessary defense for the end of the world.
Still, he typed out a note:
Suspect possesses moderate to advanced familiarity with firearms. Continued monitoring of actual firearm usage recommended.
But it wasn’t just about the gun.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhC6L3lLeSy
It was her fighting style.
That was the part Tim couldn’t let go of.
In the Bat-family, combat followed a system.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPYiqrBHnR
Even someone like Jason, who’d gone rogue, still showed traces of Bruce’s original techniques.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYD5kHuhP2h
The form might’ve drifted, but the foundation was still there—like a sword that had gone crooked, but still learned its first cuts in a dojo.
But Nora wasn’t like that.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KsPyXANwo
Her every move looked like it came straight from the streets.
She had no form, no discipline—only intent.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxPrXgaKq1
She climbed walls, flipped mid-air, punched—all aiming directly for vital points.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijcVkPsdji
She didn’t care about style, or about hurting people. She just wanted to take you down.
Tim gently touched his still-swollen cheek—he had no desire to go through that again.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UJgKVRW4G
He typed another note:
Likely exposed to life-threatening combat. Unorthodox training. Goal: neutralization, not traditional fighting. Avoid direct confrontation if possible.
After a pause, he added one last line:
These are not skills a preschool teacher should possess.
Then he saved the file and closed the encrypted folder.
As the screen dimmed into dark mode, his own reflection appeared faintly in the glass—198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0j2A6rSCj
the bruise still visible on his face.
He looked at the man in the glass, and a single sentence surfaced in his mind:198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpT1OAelCk
—"Who the hell is she?"
198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUXfpiBc6S
Because of last time’s failure,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcHvh5CODO
Tim decided to hold back this time—198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTqy0ia49s
to wait for the right moment.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFyFqQo06R
He knew he’d already spooked her.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aRzQwoMtC
The signs were there.
Finn had been gloomy for an entire week.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHw9H4hqZiB
He didn’t want to draw, didn’t want to play games,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOoGuha8cJK
and even his favorite snacks—he took a single bite and said, “I don’t want it.”
That’s not normal, Tim thought.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BMtLeDS82
Four-year-olds don’t suddenly change like that.
Then came the decisive piece of information:198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgalMR8E4z
Ms. Nora was moving.
She had taken a week off, stating the reason as “handling personal affairs related to moving.”
And—she didn’t report it to the police.
Tim drew a line in his notebook.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWocbDtO5PA
Moving house + not calling the cops =198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK7iTpMK4vw
She didn’t want anyone seeing that room.
She didn’t trust the police.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa29xtUgkds
Or perhaps, she didn’t want any official agency to find out about her prepper stash.
It was also possible she had long since grown used to handling everything on her own—198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPnComOJ1p
He’d seen that pattern before,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiwheCKUVv
in war zones, in disaster areas,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXonB4zr1D3
in places where staying alive mattered more than obeying the law.
And just as he was thinking that—198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsl2rXSUy4
the perfect opportunity came.
His sister, Leila, received an invitation from an old friend—198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83lpfEsYXv
to board a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean for an entire month,198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsSqCRMT8l
performing while enjoying a long vacation.
Leila hadn’t wanted to go.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0O4MytCJc
She always treated performing as a career, not a pleasure trip.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGuHOREnXX
Besides, she had a child to care for.
But Jason had other ideas.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMosJJxJ8Kk
With that damn persuasive tone of his, he told her they finally had a chance to “leave Gotham behind”198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3ZQTwyejg
and “live like an actual couple for once.”
“This is the one thing I’m begging you for,” Jason said to Leila.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHi94mRDi7
“For four years, you’ve been Finn’s mom.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrADCb4t3Jj
This time, just let me be a husband for one month. Please?”
And that’s when Tim got Leila’s message:
“Timmy, I’m counting on you to watch Finn.”
Tim stared at the message, then leaned back in his chair in silence.
It sounded exactly like a script—handed to him by fate.
One month.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr92gGUZIUP
An entire month.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMgCRgVcQ1
Finn would be in his care.
He looked down at the planner on his lap.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUQXXhe3m8
His finger rested on that long, blank stretch of days.
—Here it is, Tim thought.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1FJfLSqw4
The perfect chance.
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and then Add to home screen.