Nora was dreaming.
It had been so long since she last dreamed of the past—so long, in fact, that she’d wondered if she’d gone numb.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2e4Sewcw1f
Had she become so cold that even her subconscious had stopped reminding her of what once was?143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGL8uIpAfLZ
All those memories, all those past lives, seemed to have been swallowed whole by time, leaving nothing behind.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMKoEuX6GT
She had tried to recall, but couldn't even grasp a single image.
But this time, the dream came in perfect clarity.
She was driving again.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsoQDA4KNz
The engine purred beneath her, the road stretched endlessly ahead—no destination, no end in sight.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zza3ozltK
There was nothing visible beyond the horizon.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpumhDRd6Ez
Only a gut instinct urging her: keep driving, don’t stop.
“You have to make it safely,”143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQSaIrDKF7
That sentence echoed in her mind over and over.
Her hands trembled constantly, but she didn’t feel pain.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5KRKHaqL2
Not because she was numb—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8RC9JklCo
But because she hadn’t felt pain in so long, her body had learned to suppress it, to function as a machine made for movement alone.
She blinked several times.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkHHn7N1zi
Her vision blurred, like fog clouding the windshield, but she knew—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RNCyUlqIq
She still couldn’t stop.
She turned her head.
In the passenger seat, a group of small children sat quietly.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyT4rgGWtFS
They were silent, like blades of grass waiting for dawn.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlCWO1LKA7
Their faces felt familiar, but indistinct.
“Yes… the children…” she struggled to think.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NONmDlFhN
“My mission is to transport the children… a whole van of children.”
The thought surfaced from the deepest part of her mind.
She tried to grip the wheel tighter.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHUfGxhzTJ
The steering wheel pressed into her palms so hard they felt like splitting open.
She didn’t know where the van was heading.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDkPiYJNVe
But she knew one thing—
Almost there.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpxra2AELu
Almost there.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BjuZttfYw
She told herself, like soothing a frightened child.
Then, she clenched her teeth.
And in the next moment—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tX6wVx2kW
She realized her canines…143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPjE5ZFfAM
Were growing longer.
The air in the dream turned cold.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPIERjIpvI
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDoQ7QXzZN
Three days later.
Tim sat in the Batcave, surrounded by rows of surveillance monitors.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfXPeyIuWJ
Voices buzzed through his headset as the patrol team reported in from all over the city.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3K1DeOg4vV
Calmly, he toggled between camera feeds, issuing instructions through the comms, helping coordinate tonight’s patrol routes.
He flagged anomalies in each zone, then reassigned coverage areas to different team members.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2qGD65Vwp
His tone was steady, mechanical, precise.
“East docks are unusually quiet. Nightwing, swing by for a check.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIchDwA8an
Red Hood, your area’s clear. Move north.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPo25vBGUh
Batman, repeating the update: patrol the route from City Hall to the hospital again. That zone was compromised two nights ago.”
Batman’s voice came through on the other end—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1MSpYrTbC
Harsh. Cold.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsnSMwCbR2
Like the silent storm that followed a crisis.
Tim knew Bruce was angry.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOa5QcwJZ8
Correction: the entire Wayne family was furious.
Nightwing was so mad he nearly stormed back to Gotham to physically confront someone.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqWJlzaW44
Jason had already destroyed three motorcycle helmets during his patrols.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOrbw9Hl4q
Bruce said nothing—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZKsCBuODk
Which was worse.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TKulH6AD9
He’d started a full internal audit of every education facility in Gotham,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRsRT6x2X2
and if he uncovered the origin of the culprits, it was likely the entire criminal syndicate would disappear overnight.
As for Tim—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNh7qI3cBb
All he could do was stay calm and maintain command.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCQIZOZnxR
It felt like the only thing left within his control.
He remembered that day—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5wqVVAPnS
When Nora said she’d been shot, her voice so casual it sounded like a joke.
Then he got into the driver’s seat.
As he drove, he glanced sideways—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBgCZIXuFh
Nora was crouched near the door, wrapping one of his emergency tourniquets tightly around her waist.
The wound was on her side, just above the hip.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVn6cfP1Osd
Not fatal, but it had to hurt.
Tim noticed: there wasn’t as much blood as he’d feared. That gave him a sliver of relief.
But before he could ask anything,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpL5KoTanpp
Nora had already walked to the back of the van, smiling as she asked the kids:
“Want to play a car-counting game?”
She said if they saw more than twenty cars go by, that meant they were almost home.
Tim nearly turned to stare at her.
But the kids believed her.
He thought: Finn only just learned to count to ten...
As he drove, he watched her from the mirror—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvU9JfP3Ak
Her body visibly trembling from pain, but her face still smiling, comforting those frightened little souls.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclw6Xtha6g
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtP4NcjLsjy
Tim managed to drive the van full of shaken children back into the city, straight to Gotham Central Police Station.
He had rehearsed it all in his head.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eYkSH8VyO
Once they reached city limits, the logistics would kick into place—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPREqjpyWwa
Precise. Coordinated. Mechanical.
And indeed, it unfolded exactly as he planned:
Media outlets had already been contacted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFmD96DLHY
Press conference times, speaker order, and statements were all pre-arranged.
The kindergarten had dispatched staff to receive the children, calm parents, and liaise with officials.
Batcave support was at full throttle—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGSJyoca2F
Surveillance data was backed up and sent to the police.
The hospital had opened emergency lanes in advance.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSxIX6tTvH
The two teachers were immediately transferred upon arrival.
Everything unfolded according to Tim’s “perfect exit strategy.”
He personally announced that the main suspect and accomplices had been captured in the outskirts.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2ldmz4cMP
To support that claim, Tim had Robin rush to the scene—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURCliGDBPk
And they did, in fact, find unconscious criminals and leftover evidence.
He played the part flawlessly.
Outside the police station, parents had already gathered.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoL0LTpy6Jg
When they saw their children return safe, the cries that erupted were like a tsunami.
Kids threw themselves at their parents, sobbing uncontrollably.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSV8KdWQl4
One louder than the next—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKR5OGiigN
Even Tim nearly lost control of his own emotions.
Thankfully, he had already arranged human barricades and visual shields.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXh9cKEe9d
Not a single child’s crying face was caught by media cameras.
As for Finn’s parents—Jason and Lyla—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssDAOsOgBY
They were abroad and couldn’t return for at least two more days.
So Bruce came himself to pick up Finn.
The moment those tear-filled blue eyes spotted his grandfather,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmK5fVgjX7
he leapt forward like a tiny animal finally dropping its defenses,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TnZnr0AJh
and clung to Bruce’s neck with everything he had.
For once, Bruce was at a loss for words.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMbQw5t1Gt
All he could say was: “It’s okay. Grandpa’s here.”
The two teachers were transported safely to the hospital.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvR3LwQEh6
Initial checks showed one had simply passed out from shock and would be fine after rest.
But just as Tim was still deep in post-crisis coordination at the station,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOva51Mv5xA
a call came through the hospital’s secure line—
Nora’s injury was far worse than they had initially thought.
The bullet had entered through her side, struck bone, then ricocheted, causing extensive internal damage.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGMn2Nn4yW
The doctor described it as a “small-scale explosion” inside her body.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPUfgpZrcB
Bleeding was severe and difficult to control.
The initial surgery couldn’t fix everything.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEAxNadZhr
They had to stabilize her first, then proceed in phases.
The operation stretched across three days.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGzPHk6YK9
Two surgical teams rotated.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIS0qTb3JI
Experts from general surgery, trauma, neurology, and orthopedics were brought in.
And now—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqdlC7QSQq
Tim sat on a bench outside the police station.
He closed his tablet.
Tilted his head back.
And stared at the gray, heavy sky.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrW3fliA5a
Speechless for a very, very long time.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljaa8X9DQW
and then Add to home screen.