Four years ago, he really hadn’t been legal.
He’d just turned nineteen, barely starting to find balance between nightly patrols and his daytime identity.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHxO8zJfd5
His face still held traces of youth, and his voice hadn’t quite steadied the way it had now.
But how did Nora know?
Tim mulled it over.
She wasn’t a “research-type” writer—not the kind who cross-referenced dates or analyzed timelines.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3QSHL1Hb6
Most of her work leaned romantic, even fantastical. Not logic-heavy at all.
Did she deduce it from photos?
From height ratios? Facial bone structure?218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkL1gFXvZm
Uniform updates? Timeline of field appearances?
He ran through a few technical explanations—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJBSA6B5fB
but none of them quite fit.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoOCyuZgzX
She didn’t come off as someone who calculated.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHT9L8aRrs
She was more like someone whose instinct hit so close to the truth, it made your scalp tingle.
Tim kept thinking.
His thoughts wouldn’t settle—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGBRk65mWJ
like a jigsaw puzzle halfway done: some pieces jammed, others suddenly clicking together.
Wait.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyLKSbwNzg
He was an adult now.
Would Nora… know?
Would she, one random morning with her coffee, suddenly realize—
that the character she once refused to write because “he’s a kid”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLO3tJorwe
was now… of age?
Would she start writing about him?
He wasn’t curious about the content—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDLtN16Ir3
No, this was just… a professional assessment.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYrZ8Tj0Hp
Yes, a risk projection, not personal interest.
And if she did start writing…218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKQo2Phs5s
that would mean she’d been keeping an eye on him.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE5ndVMl7U
Wouldn’t it?
Wait—no. Stop.
I should go to bed.
Tim loudly told himself:218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3fouHbzTI
It’s 3:42 A.M.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUmKqbis3K
I’ve already reviewed thirty-eight anonymous files today.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMHlN2JOFp
If I don’t sleep now, I’ll misread intel tomorrow.
Why am I even wondering if Nora would start writing fanfic about me?218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19liRa0jUK
Why do I… care?
No. This was professional anxiety.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsvp8zI0nm
Part of Bat-Family information security protocols.
Yes.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqyT0dDlnx
Sleep. No more browsing.
Tim slammed the laptop shut—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDennaMPW7B
as if slamming the door on temptation itself.
The chair creaked behind him as he stood,218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7ETXKTE4g
feeling like someone who’d spent the entire night being silently stared at.
No one can know about this.
He walked toward the door, steps slow—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXgZJs2Vye
each one suppressing the mental image rising uninvited to the surface.
Finn’s future bride candidate…
was a top-tier Batman erotica author.
And not just any writer—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgKHLDgJRa
the kind who casually wrote things like,218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrfzkVMLIR
“He’s a kid. I don’t want to commit a crime.”
Just thinking about it made Tim feel like breaking into pieces.
If Damian ever found out—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLcbaQapS0
the kid would probably laugh himself breathless, then go ask Bruce:218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtdF54VIe8
“So… what do you think of Finn’s teacher writing fanfic about you and… yourself?”
No.
This had to be buried in the night.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3ak9IuSx5
No one in the Bat-Family could ever know.
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDcw477AJ6
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupgadQrBtK
Tim shoved the whole thing to the back of his mind.
Like stashing a bizarre dream into a folder marked218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzLqbqldFP
“Low Risk / No Action”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnY4bkWxYv
and quietly minimizing the window.
Looking back, he figured maybe he’d overreacted a bit to those green eyes.
That day she stood up and scanned him?218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVQJZtNEmj
Maybe it had just been a teacher’s instinct.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNHuNQXvjZ
Maybe he had just been wound too tight.
At least now he knew her biggest secret.
He honestly hadn’t expected that inside her computer,218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgMS0jFVoT
there weren’t blueprints for bombs, or surveillance tapes—
but instead—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0obJgNi7QE
the entire archive of a legendary Batman fanfiction author.
A legendary Batman fanfiction author.
Just thinking those words gave him a mild headache.
Who would’ve guessed someone like that was hiding in a kindergarten?
Blonde hair. Green eyes.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpjCZGknZy
Gentle smile.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNG42HJKQn7
Painstaking lesson plans.
And then at night, under an anonymous handle,218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyYJrLuBNt
she’d write Nightwing until the man couldn’t breathe.
Still, Tim decided—he had to keep monitoring her.
It was a precaution. A professional assessment.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUnCwbqPXk
Lack of malicious intent didn’t mean lack of risk.
The better she was at writing…218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgDSLbqFqe
the more likely she might one day write something too accurate.
So he checked her system.
Installed a barely-there monitoring script—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYrk04DbXZ
so subtle it wouldn’t interfere with daily use.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtYXPWua0e
It would only trigger if specific keywords were typed.
If anything questionable showed up,218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPTuZEqTpe
Tim would be notified first.
Not automatically blocked.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNYSLxGXDm
He’d assess it himself.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XEZTzOulW
A baseline courtesy—to respect creative freedom.
This should be enough, he thought.
Leaning back in his chair,218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0o6mqou3sS
he wrapped up the day’s backup logs218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcNcRNgtWa
and turned to other vigilante data reports.
But unfortunately…218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4A9lsl4ad
Tim relaxed too soon.
Some things only happen right when you think you’re safe.
Like an alarm that hasn’t gone off in ages—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8U1cz40Rhj
only to explode in the middle of dead silence.
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBO8CDzCVK
One week later—
Tim’s computer lit up in warning.
Not a regular alert.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMPwQt91Cc
It was one of his high-priority personal triggers.
It popped from the corner of his screen—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtJRyjhNTx
flashing red.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPdjgxSINk
Loud system ping.
Tim reacted instantly.
Fingers darted to the trackpad on reflex.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9YWnTMOaE
Eyes locked on the window as it expanded.
The monitored user had typed flagged keywords:
gun. black market. bullets.
Tim’s breath caught.
He stared at the words—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mc4hcdSb3
blank for a second—then rapidly expanded the full input log.
Nora Virell218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9cdxc6eLI
Search time: 11:42 P.M.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXoCEtP03o
Device: Personal computer.
Entered queries:
- “Where to buy bullets in Gotham right now”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdtOo4D5Vt
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8lM0UaYFG - “Black market weapon price list”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2ZvtZNlVL
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwScwwqbEj - “Handgun usage tutorial”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18q9XPuuQ7
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs67FKBOswL
Tim stared at the screen—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBShrOPZjzQ
and felt his chest begin to tighten.
Tim was thinking.
He didn’t jump to conclusions.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UK1Izu0rQ
Not right away.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLk9kamOD1
Like always, he mentally arranged all the possible explanations in rapid succession.
He tried to reason it out—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIBgxRsFdD
because reason was the only shield he trusted when facing the unknown.
Could it be for a story?
He’d seen plenty of creators do research for plot accuracy.
Maybe she was writing a scene about a vigilante infiltrating the black market.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikRWUv7Kx7
Maybe a character was trying to stop an arms deal.
Something like that.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWj5D0qrIp
Trying to recreate that sense of danger.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSXFMzQDHg
Or exploring a character’s discomfort with firearms—how they reacted to pulling the trigger.
He’d read those kinds of stories before.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZ6hQeKUoY
Some of them were frighteningly realistic.
But unfortunately—Nora proved him wrong.
She wasn’t just skimming scenarios.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfwTNzwkFx
She wasn’t just dipping in and out.
She was seriously browsing.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DIZNh74EN
Spending over thirty seconds per page.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpI1sB7q0d
Even bookmarking a few of them.
She was looking at firearm weights, manufacturing years, and production companies.
Her search terms included:
- “Glock old vs new model differences”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqohTJ3Pe0d
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSbvBKhYlG - “Small caliber vs large caliber”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLwFuAtgjW
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2IVjLmJ4n - “Civilian vs law enforcement firearm pricing”218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfYjeYUgm7
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarwft3YsZd
Those weren’t things a character needed to know.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0rJ1guzrl
They were the kind of details a gun user would want to understand.
Which meant—
Nora was already familiar.
This wasn’t her first time researching this.
She wasn’t gathering info for fiction.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukdFKrwwfG
She was evaluating—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzlxbHNtkw
like someone deciding whether a specific gun was worth owning.
What does she need a gun for?
The question echoed in Tim’s head.
Not just surprise anymore—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkBMnCCatm
a rising, sharp anxiety began flooding in.
She’s a teacher. Finn’s teacher.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaaYJTkwt2
She works in a kindergarten.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyPnzVRC4r
Teaches kids to draw, tells them stories, shows them how to say “I’m sorry.”
What would she need a gun for?
For protection?218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhbcNlZz0D
For something else?
Where did she learn it?218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcjlXn8YVb
Has she been trained?218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmcR7CYkTJ
Does she know how to use one?218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmaaa5j2io
Would she use it on someone?
Tim couldn’t let this go.
This wasn’t about artistic freedom.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7hthsjSbx
This wasn’t just a passing curiosity.
This was a potential armed individual demonstrating suspicious behavior.
He needed to understand her threat level—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKj2F6qxDz
and eliminate any possible risk.
That didn’t mean punishment.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8DT1yuuNU
But it did mean removing danger—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YoZl3KXhA
before it ever had the chance to grow teeth.
Tim moved his fingers.
The keyboard’s backlight flickered faintly as the windows expanded again—218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYFOY0JMjX
reconnecting to Nora’s online activity log.
His fingers hovered above the shortcut keys tied to his rapid-execution programs.
He had made up his mind.
His gaze was cold.218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTQotrXpu8
His tone unspoken.
This time—he was going to find out, personally.
What the hell is she planning?
218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhSxqTCz4I
and then Add to home screen.