The next evening, Tim was seated at the long dining table in Wayne Manor, having dinner with everyone.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PpEnQIcAo
He deliberately picked a seat at an angle, trying to keep the bruise on his cheek hidden in the shadows.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXju7EucVee
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?”
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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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKiMcviEmf
“Uncle! Your face—what happened?”
Tim tried to dodge, but the child was already leaning out of his seat.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6C8K4w7GK
“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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82PnzHG9IJ
“Pain, pain, fly away…!”
Damian froze, struggling to keep a straight face.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGN0T03S6M2
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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHcMCWD3Iz
Except for him, no one really cared where the bruise came from.
He chewed his bread with a blank expression—he had expected this.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hrZN8c2hc
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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9db5ok15g
“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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYFin90MQp
“Ahem… Why do you ask, Finn?”
Everyone’s attention now turned to the four-year-old.
Finn frowned, visibly upset.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuOIxg19PA
“Ms. Nora didn’t come today. The other teachers said her house got broken into, so she took the day off.”194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsr903vFNq
“I think she must be really sad…”
He spoke softly, poking at the mashed pumpkin with his fork.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkV9XFWDWk3
“So Grandpa,” he looked up, more serious this time,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIjQ7ee8nI
“can you ask Batman to catch the thief for her?”
Tim "Thief" Drake lowered his head, thinking about his unbearably adorable nephew—194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiZv8wMchA
and desperately wished he could bury his face in the mashed potatoes and disappear.
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Tim sat at his computer, writing down everything he had on Nora in his encrypted folder.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEnNMuhyh3
He opened the private page only he could access,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMLKsdidXY
created a new file, and titled it: Nora V.
Below were a few concise categories:
- Writing (Batman-related fanfiction, pen name Nightnest)194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzE5dM1nSQ
194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVi41aGXYwB - Preschool Teacher (legitimate, clean record)194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pwifspNNF
194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyyyDcPXZ7 - Minimalist Lifestyle (inconsistent with disaster prep supplies)194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrItCPRqgwL
194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HsiWK02bC - Emergency Supplies (food, water, filters, backpack, sleeping pad)194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVCMlzm1xN
194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvAj4VAj2k - Firearms (research history, models, manufacturers)194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ViMxf47pz
194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0Cy8rlHKF - Combat Techniques (Highly concerning)194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSINe185slV
194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGddoXcrH5
Tim paused, staring at the list with a deep frown.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZPXsu5txd
—It didn’t make sense. This combination couldn’t form a psychological profile.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFHaGhfH3U
It was like someone had forcibly stitched together a “character setting.”
He anxiously stared at the screen.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeO2u2VTZU
He didn’t like this kind of unclassifiable presence—this unpredictable variable.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnCbiuzDpr
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.”194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgQGn8bprL
Because if that entire guest room really was part of her survival prepping plan,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2qzZjj6wo
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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeygCMiioQ8
It was her fighting style.
That was the part Tim couldn’t let go of.
In the Bat-family, combat followed a system.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2e06vtU4m
Even someone like Jason, who’d gone rogue, still showed traces of Bruce’s original techniques.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiNqoc7rZs
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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgM2BPJ2es
Her every move looked like it came straight from the streets.
She had no form, no discipline—only intent.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJskHB2nMK
She climbed walls, flipped mid-air, punched—all aiming directly for vital points.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Wp6figcCm
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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0AY6UNQGq
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—194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzLQp9T8qy
the bruise still visible on his face.
He looked at the man in the glass, and a single sentence surfaced in his mind:194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfam1RIJom1
—"Who the hell is she?"
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Because of last time’s failure,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjkxTu7LcX
Tim decided to hold back this time—194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAjMVNo8sD
to wait for the right moment.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskkdc5bYJy
He knew he’d already spooked her.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJc1T4gJY9c
The signs were there.
Finn had been gloomy for an entire week.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwk7EpCS4Fe
He didn’t want to draw, didn’t want to play games,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdhkozpSj3
and even his favorite snacks—he took a single bite and said, “I don’t want it.”
That’s not normal, Tim thought.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZJ46Grb6v
Four-year-olds don’t suddenly change like that.
Then came the decisive piece of information:194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNMSsCNgNz
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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ERvbdSaCO
Moving house + not calling the cops =194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIO3liZQSK
She didn’t want anyone seeing that room.
She didn’t trust the police.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPzvtyYCwh
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—194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRafVjVAGg
He’d seen that pattern before,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46UuFdghZi
in war zones, in disaster areas,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhBXDq8E3K
in places where staying alive mattered more than obeying the law.
And just as he was thinking that—194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnC8BsfbloK
the perfect opportunity came.
His sister, Leila, received an invitation from an old friend—194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Gfvz3OAeJ
to board a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean for an entire month,194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPywIUT2tr3
performing while enjoying a long vacation.
Leila hadn’t wanted to go.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85vjcrLDqx
She always treated performing as a career, not a pleasure trip.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnYvnIPXKf
Besides, she had a child to care for.
But Jason had other ideas.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdduhZ9uoiw
With that damn persuasive tone of his, he told her they finally had a chance to “leave Gotham behind”194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7jK1WAqNh
and “live like an actual couple for once.”
“This is the one thing I’m begging you for,” Jason said to Leila.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRSho3pZJZ
“For four years, you’ve been Finn’s mom.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvmMJB9p3D
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.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQRKZCU5Xh
An entire month.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjNHJzFmjy
Finn would be in his care.
He looked down at the planner on his lap.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZNVGEEVR9
His finger rested on that long, blank stretch of days.
—Here it is, Tim thought.194Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKRC80Dmqg
The perfect chance.
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and then Add to home screen.