Tim opened the folder.
The moment his fingertip clicked, he didn’t expect much—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfVXFKUknk
just wanted to see what kind of secrets an ordinary teacher might tuck away in an encrypted file.
It felt like opening Pandora’s box.
The kind where the first glance seems fine,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtcgVPQIgt
the second glance makes you pause,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPzbBCPnLy
and by the third, you’re breaking into a cold sweat.
Tim was now progressing through all three stages.
He froze.
No exaggeration—his breath actually hitched.
The files on screen weren’t private notes, nor work journals.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPUPHZcA7e
They were… an unreasonably large information archive on Gotham’s vigilantes.
An entire hoard of data.
The top layer was organized into folders—image logs, character analyses, action records, tagging systems, archived anonymous forum discussions.
Each section held hundreds of entries.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxwcS4N3e9
Some even dated back to before Tim had officially put on the costume.
There were files on Batman.
Photos from every appearance, movement analysis, battle-style predictions—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz98dIMDuFY
even heatmaps of likely retreat points when injured.
There were files on other vigilantes too.
Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Batgirl—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7oKpp971f
even that new kid, Signal, who’d only just started showing up.
She’d tracked costume changes, appearance frequency, voice comparisons, height correlations…238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBCsmX9uSD
to an almost absurd degree of detail.
There were villain dossiers too.
Joker, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfejY5RKiJT
each with personal profiles, connection maps, and “interaction intensity with Bat Family” tags.
Okay, maybe she’s just a weird fan of Gotham’s masked population,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExiboDcWbW
Tim told himself, trying to stay calm—mentally running through possible explanations.
Maybe she was saved as a child by one of them.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKp3KOYy5l
Maybe she was just obsessed with mystery.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxyOwmp0Vw
Maybe she was a data junkie.
I mean, wasn’t I a total Batman fanboy too?238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCjcj0vgAO
As a kid, he’d clipped newspaper articles, tried sketching Batman’s fight moves from memory…
Tim reassured himself,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFDGKwch5p
“This is fine… probably.”
Unfortunately, the next folder shattered that illusion.
As he scrolled down, another layer of folders appeared.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5pZEAMhYu
The titles were clear. Brutally direct.
Each one read:
- Batman x Bruce Wayne238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEn5H8Uz7HG
238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbzKrHifad - Batman x Superman238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAgBgrUT83
238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnv4hgH3rln - Batman x Nightwing238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVGudkK7Ql
238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTtEop25AU
All ships.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlndnsKHA7
Each with their own titles.
Some were poetic.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGGOks83yu
Some just used character names.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5aEZtKO86
Some were marked R18 or Mature.
Cover images were clearly screenshots—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVWlUq6Dbw
some were even re-edited from surveillance footage angles Tim recognized.
Altogether, the files totaled terabytes in size.
This wasn’t your average fan collection.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS571NVC0SA
This was a full-blown database, a creative archive,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdubbE5Kn7
an annotated, curated, fanfiction hell-library.
Tim went completely still.
His knuckles whitened slightly, the hand holding his coffee frozen mid-air.
He glanced side to side—confirmed he was alone—and took a sip of coffee.
The room was silent.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOecSu6Csg
The screen glowed softly.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwwONpeJh7
He swallowed dryly, then clicked into one subfolder.
He had to know—was Nora just a collector? Or…
He opened a few files.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFV3Gtca5Ao
The very first was a 30,000-word longfic.
Polished formatting.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeaOLeYDYD
Perfect pacing.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWgId3L9PZ
Uncannily accurate character voices.
Confirmed.
She was the author.
Every story bore the name Nightnest.
Not reposted. Not fan-shared.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuiSkt6z5QM
Originals—with footnotes, reader comments, and her own replies.
This wasn’t just some writer.
She was the kind of creator Tim had seen before.
Now, he knew who she was.
So that blonde, kind-looking teacher—who loved children and gave her all for her students—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJV4SfZi18
was, in private…
a top-tier author of Batman fanfiction.
238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglrED27qwW
238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQ5Ok8FiWp
Tim had to clear his name.
He was not reading Batman fanfiction. Seriously.
He hadn’t clicked these voluntarily.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WsvIWUm00
It was for investigation. For documentation. For precaution.
He was not the type to scroll forums late at night to see how people wrote about him.
Absolutely not.
But he had to read it.
He was the intel coordinator.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmliSb9aYT4
The systems analyst.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRVeG4YcP3
The Bat Family’s information manager.
It was his job to know how deep Gotham’s collective fantasy ran.
He had to assess whether any of these Batman fans were getting too close.
Some people guessed too accurately—it became a threat.
Some creators unintentionally pieced together real-world connections.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qs7faQjrH
Even reconstructed critical events.
Some fans were just one step away from identifying Red Robin…238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvBtQiMXsK
or pinpointing Batman’s real address.
That’s where Tim stepped in—to misdirect.
He’d plant false clues in forums,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcalf5EUTCQ
comment on key stories to steer readers off track,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLk7Xe0oiH
or even create fake accounts to write misleading fanfics of his own.
In some cases, he’d temporarily hack a fan’s system—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29zWRg9cRE
not to destroy anything, just cause a brief outage, disrupt backups, scramble files.
“We respect creativity…238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxNsv6gEjU
but not if it accidentally blows up our lives.”
Honestly, most fans didn’t care about the truth.
They just wanted the smut.
They wanted to see someone slammed against a wall, cape tossed aside,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9MAnYKFmh
followed by the line:238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkhW0OIhSh
“Tonight, you are my city.”
Lots of physical tension.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXYzeIIK5J
Bodies tangling. Uniforms torn. Gloves half-removed—
Tim was losing it.
Some passages were so realistic,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3iCVPA5Ev
he nearly shut the whole system down right then.
These days, he had the Batcomputer’s AI scan them for him.
Semantic tagging.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJU1nN46lU2
Trigger-word filters.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dhhBTivNB
Subject detection.
If there was an issue, the AI flagged it.
Only then would Tim step in.
He’d review the summaries, check engagement levels,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBLhI7Er3K
and intervene if necessary.
No more manually reading every word,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHflIDMZR0h
no more sleepless 3 a.m. coffee nights thinking:238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQqLCINKl2
“Would I actually say that?”
Now, Tim sat before the screen in thought.
Before him was the full database—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaRZUSxlLd
Nightnest’s entire creative and curated archive.
Each title marked by timestamp and genre.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQ3RLcWrMb
It looked like a sacred index of someone’s private sanctuary.
A kindergarten teacher with this kind of hobby…238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6o5Y1GGI3t
could she really pose any threat to the vigilantes?
Didn’t seem like it.
She hadn’t posted any real identity guesses.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyInJ5fIky
She’d never contacted any organizations or joined real-life meetups.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxiH4oGoGN
She just wrote. Alone. Quietly.
Would she be dangerous to Finn?
Also unlikely.
Her behavior at school was impeccable.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBjjdzXL2T
Interactions were appropriate.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbDcNuO8zN
The kids adored her—and she genuinely seemed to put them first.
I’ll review the database thoroughly before making a call,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCp4ct80mA
Tim decided.
He tapped a few keys, launching his analysis program.
This time, it wasn’t just for the Bat Family.
It was also… to figure out who she really was.
238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAWoyzaaKv
Completely against Tim’s expectations—
Nora’s database was mostly focused on character development.
He had anticipated rows of logic deductions, tactical predictions, maybe even attempts to unmask their identities.
But in reality… almost none of that was there.
Nora wasn’t the theorizing type.
She wasn’t trying to deduce the truth from scattered clues, nor had she built any massive real-world matching web.
Her interests were clearly elsewhere—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzMXoAbtoP
storytelling, character arcs… and smut.
The only thing she seemed remotely analytical about… was the body.
Especially character height and physique.
And oddly enough, her guesses were pretty accurate.
Tim opened a few of her works focused on Nightwing—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCUNMb5BkX
and realized the body proportions she used were almost a perfect match to Dick’s actual measurements.
But that, to be fair, was inevitable.
Photos gave away a lot.
How tall someone looked from certain angles, how broad they seemed standing next to others,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMmCxVt0QS
which side they leaned on when injured—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IzeoG2yyl
observe long enough, and anyone could start estimating the truth.
What Nora was really good at… was writing sex scenes.
She was very good at it.
Detailed, fluid, full of tension, and disturbingly polished.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakh2IhX9HJ
Her prose carried weight, restraint, and that addictive pull that made it hard to stop reading.
She even tracked outfit variations just to write better undressing sequences.
Her fans loved her NSFW content.
On forums, her ID was constantly mentioned.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQiO2Aond9
One comment read,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BriY9bfxZ
“I’ve re-read the Whitechapel Nightwing fic ten times.”238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDq5ayKbWRi
Another said,238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeDlQN8PVE
“Now that’s how you write post-battle kissing.”
Her writing style was even dubbed:238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBEX7umLo7
“Gotham’s Most Dangerous Erotic Weapon.”
Each post racked up millions of views.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnVNvULHYR
Hearts. Bookmarks. Endless comment threads.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0OcuSCcAg
The sheer numbers screamed top-tier fandom legend.
Some even called her:238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SVn6XzQEd
“The lighthouse of Gotham fanfic.”
And yet—Nora had never written about Red Robin.
Tim had checked.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RWXUEop4s
Multiple times.
He even ran the entire database through his AI scanner—automated search and semantic tagging.
No “Red Robin.” No codename. No face.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2sKzosL0w
Nothing.
Why?238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjtC9yRDlK
Why no Red Robin?
Tim frowned, scrolling with his fingertip, an odd sort of confusion blooming inside him.
Was he… not worth writing about?238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4fpMUKDUH
Or had she simply never noticed him?
In her entire database, Tim searched.
Red Robin only came up in bits and pieces.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEGHarpzt8
Scattered notes, short mentions—mostly minor relational footnotes with other characters.
Meanwhile, Nightwing and Red Hood had dozens of pages.
Some even had dedicated folders, quotes collections, post-battle psychological interpretations.
That question began to coil in Tim’s head.
Like a snake with no head or tail—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRXVAvIbYv
it didn’t bite.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbwxl8rjs0
Just… slowly wrapped itself around his nerves.
Tim started digging into Nora’s replies to readers.
On the forum, he searched for the keyword “Red Robin,”238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWowRCFXQE
pulling the timeline all the way back—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGLraNQalZ
hoping to see if fans had ever brought this up.
They had.
One thread from four years ago popped up.
Someone asked:238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GX2eoL6ia
“Why do you never write Red Robin? I think he’s super hot.”
Tim scrolled down.
Among the comments was one posted by Nightnest herself.
Calm tone. Short. No twists or detailed reasoning.
Nora replied under her pen name:
“He’s a kid. I don’t want to commit a crime.”
Tim:238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDVuI39lsM
????????!!!!!!!!
He stared at that line for five whole seconds before his brain rebooted.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen people make jokes like that online before.
But now the subject was him.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1sh9ela1i
Red Robin.238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPveEnHmTg
Tim Drake.
And her reason for excluding him entirely from her work…
Was because “it would be illegal.”
Tim slowly raised his coffee cup and took a sip—238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyJK03ltnM
only to realize it had been empty for a while.
Now he didn’t know whether to feel insulted, confused…238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwg0pxganx
or just a little bit relieved.
238Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwphuYBo8oB
and then Add to home screen.