Nora lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, her gaze drifting into the distance.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIT2ILAVObh
Her hair fanned out across the pillow like ripples of soft golden waves.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAoDf1wEW1
She didn’t move much—only her chest gently rose and fell with each breath.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fpSKgYUA8
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHxE2LcIFB
His arm naturally brushed against Nora’s, their body heat quietly connecting.
But Nora didn’t turn to look at him.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQlTVadnEw
Still staring at the blank ceiling above, she asked softly,136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxV4qNQGRA
“Tim, don’t you want to ask me some questions?”
Tim tilted his head, his blue eyes resting on her profile.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyXY8JxpCs
Her tone wasn’t too light or heavy—like she was speaking to a stranger.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzn9AXyp1A
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFRcTkVtYe
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zSxEUbKi2
Ever since they got together, he had made a decision:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jHBTd6UHJ
If she wanted to talk, he’d listen.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZOwaq9NCV
But he wouldn’t pry.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJXwaTYLGu
Because he could guess—it wasn’t going to be a fairytale.
And the fact that she made it here, stayed by his side—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzUu2PxmV1
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySdRPssXpY
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluPWUXEJaO
“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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pLdihySNY
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKtCNpiM6p
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgq9dQW70T
He opened his mouth, but realized—he didn’t need to say anything.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnRyipZXE5
Because in that moment, she had already told him more than he ever hoped to hear.
She trusted them.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQytDdbgScX
She chose to stay.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UNR0INWvp
And he would do everything he could to protect her present.
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One Day
Nora was lying on Tim’s lap.
Tim: “Nora, are you sure you want to talk? You know Batman…”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWMpqsfQC2
Nora glanced up at him with those green eyes:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEn887N5Har
“You mean the cold, reclusive, control-freak part?”
She reached up and took his hand.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMrH5doqdG
“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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfD3nTUlaR
Tim glared at her.
A few days earlier, Nora had suggested:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPm0yyIw3rd
“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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHM0KfroEe8
But Nora said, “Let me guess—Batman asked you to write a report, right, Timmy?136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQfVHIWxNQ
If you don’t, he’ll come in person. I know that much.”
“About who I am…” she said, still staring upward,136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eNMpPlq0a
“This is a story I never planned to tell.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSjPWTm1jH
But now… I’m ready.”
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136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qzQAtxkcX
Nora tilted her head slightly, as if drawing long-forgotten fragments from deep memory.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4OSeiRIux
Her tone carried a playful ambiguity.
“Just to be clear, I wasn’t born in Gotham with those memories.”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeX97ZpBWRe
“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.”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb4xSTUexq
She chuckled. “I remember it was after a ball game. I came home late, took a shortcut—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHRqsFb4FV
and then I saw Batman and Robin.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVq0BoOYQY
And I passed out.”
Tim’s expression changed.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGW0wqpJJgH
That long-buried memory—suddenly cracked open by her words.
He remembered that patrol.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6UztwngtH
Not a particularly memorable mission.
A girl appeared at the end of an alley.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEZeYnVhJT
Blonde hair. Wide eyes. Frozen in place.
And then—she fainted.
He hadn’t even had time to say a word.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOho1F1lKxp
He caught her instinctively. She looked like any normal teenage girl.
He took her to the nearest hospital.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUHNI3bSfR
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYnGc0brvZ
“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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsdOyPpzcm
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlDS4Wx012
“Ah ah, I’ll get to that~”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZKqPLi88m
Her voice teased at the end—like she was baiting an audience, or trying to make Tim squirm.
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136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjTEe7onEG
Nora’s gaze drifted into the distance, as if recalling memories from another lifetime.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEY8L9w40Hq
Her expression softened, eyes unfocused—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHhwnkuPDh
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNavqIxaQDm
Or trying to comfort herself.
“In my previous life, I was born into a very ordinary family.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzgDBLd3jL
Just my parents and a sister.”
Her lips curled slightly, like the simple statement brought images to her mind—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfxBilrJRG
the three of them making breakfast, watching cartoons on the couch.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHFb42eTjf
Nothing dramatic. No sorrow. Just warmth, familiar and everyday.
“Our family had one special trait—probably written into our DNA.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIoqiqp7Tq
We loved children.”
Her tone held pride.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pbeo1rNU0
Not about noble bloodlines or prestige, but a kind of inherited gentleness—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYgbOtLu89
a deep affection for life, and an instinct to remain patient through both tantrums and laughter.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeOsCuEnGn
“We ran a kindergarten. There were always kids around.”
She let out a soft laugh, part fondness, part exasperation—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBLgKZrXKM
as if that school had been the center of her universe:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoYZfjge0W
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfM8oY9WfC
She probably wasn’t even in grade school yet—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrfkirue46
but she already knew how to hold a crying baby, how to coax a fussy toddler into eating.
“Kids are the cutest,”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgyXt1D21n
she said warmly—like the words came straight from her soul.
Her eyes softened. Her lips curved gently.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKvwjMGZC3
A tiny glint sparkled in her gaze.
Nora squinted slightly, still lying on Tim’s lap,136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3a5Bp3krg
though her eyes seemed focused on the past—where there was no blood, no chaos,136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aTagYnqQj
just children running across rubber mats.
“Our world was peaceful.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqPF9rojkW
No crime. No supervillains.”
Her voice was calm—stating it as if it were the most natural thing.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcyH6Oa3dY
A world without Gotham.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvlFKLbZKb
No blood-soaked nights.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwq74ogmZb3
No alarms wailing.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTcwdngYGj
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1US6QvrNZ
She’d watched every movie, read every comic.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTPzF1PuKb
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncfcUwDo9U
He furrowed his brows, trying to make her story fit his world—but it didn’t.
Nora laughed.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvGqXAwMjh
“Exactly, Tim. In my world, Batman is just a comic book character.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO20lgnwTCP
He’s a detective series, actually.”
She beamed at him, her tone teasing but affectionate.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85bacq7vMX
As if to say, “Yes, I came from a world you can't imagine—but I really did.”
“My sister loved Batman so much.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWyGGyVd9C
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.
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136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamX2Z1P7P5
“She rubbed it off on me. I couldn’t help it.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfqCXqDGqh
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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHaUwyZE5x
But Tim could tell—she truly loved those stories.
“I could even name all the Batman actors in order,”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3VCFnrkz3
she added proudly, like it was a party trick, or a badge of honor.
Nora continued:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFdUpNwJ60
“At night, we’d put Batman movies on during dinner.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfaf4BP6xU
Imagine eating while hearing how high Gotham’s crime rate is.”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjS7yqLBEM
Then she chuckled. “My dad would always ask:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6l853WWjUa
‘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.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkZRsCMNQb
Her room was plastered with Batman.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnZ4TUYiZT
Every morning I woke up to a black-suited man silently staring at me.”
She burst out laughing.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJQi4wNfSd
A childhood trauma, perhaps—but clearly not one she regretted.
Tim suddenly thought of something. He asked softly:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYt2XGDpX1
“Why did you write… fanfics about Batman?”
Still lying on his lap, she answered slowly:136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9AWw2xLPo
“I needed to muddy the water.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKbhd3fcbK
Crystal-clear water has no fish.”
Tim’s eyes widened.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33HTkVQkdn
It clicked instantly.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvFfyr95FX
Nora had deliberately drawn attention away from the vigilantes’ true identities.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kBXgKsxyk
By flooding the internet with chaotic stories, relationships, and drama—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfkT8yBuMD
she distracted people from uncovering the truth beneath the masks.
She added,136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJecSJxj7X8
“When I was just a small-time writer, my fluff had only two readers.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnFJRLohH7
That was no good… So I took the dark path instead.”
Her voice held resignation—and a bit of self-deprecating humor.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6VsAJUAAm
Like someone who only meant to cause a little confusion,136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjm5CuojrV
but got dragged deeper and deeper into fandom, until there was no going back.
She looked at him seriously.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8lqkyIzB6
“You better not tell anyone.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20PgVIRhuY
I never wrote about you, okay?”
Tim couldn’t tell if that was a plea… or a threat.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtk9i6bOLq
So he simply nodded.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpuEGQuXhZ
Tim looked at her, blue eyes focused.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMJscL6YRO
He asked, voice quiet:
“So…136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7qwcdazRt
Were you happy?136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fEJLJngv0
In that world?”
Nora nodded gently.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQOcuk01T4
Her tone was soft, filled with an indescribable longing.
“Mm.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGC2mJsurHS
Those were the happiest fifteen years of my life.”
But then—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMhQVoiDCx
she turned her face toward his stomach, burying herself there.136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5b0rt0rts
Her voice came muffled:
“Too bad, Tim…136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBzaLPGAZ4
The apocalypse came.”
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5a1IM1x9Z
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSE2zDZhlEv
and then Add to home screen.