The next evening, Tim was seated at the long dining table in Wayne Manor, having dinner with everyone.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3ZTAXr0j6
He deliberately picked a seat at an angle, trying to keep the bruise on his cheek hidden in the shadows.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8hnxVJtCa
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFezUadxSDU
“Uncle! Your face—what happened?”
Tim tried to dodge, but the child was already leaning out of his seat.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFVlctR1N9
“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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaNMx04Ot2
“Pain, pain, fly away…!”
Damian froze, struggling to keep a straight face.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijp7ssPCJS
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TLiHiGTo9
Except for him, no one really cared where the bruise came from.
He chewed his bread with a blank expression—he had expected this.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDFJMfoT0R
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4A0X2019rh
“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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBUzMCCaA6
“Ahem… Why do you ask, Finn?”
Everyone’s attention now turned to the four-year-old.
Finn frowned, visibly upset.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGN1qRBKPV9
“Ms. Nora didn’t come today. The other teachers said her house got broken into, so she took the day off.”196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSgNmiTW7q
“I think she must be really sad…”
He spoke softly, poking at the mashed pumpkin with his fork.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRft0RB7hz
“So Grandpa,” he looked up, more serious this time,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpPo98t9hi
“can you ask Batman to catch the thief for her?”
Tim "Thief" Drake lowered his head, thinking about his unbearably adorable nephew—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoamrSIRCHu
and desperately wished he could bury his face in the mashed potatoes and disappear.
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196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmlY3Bm10p
Tim sat at his computer, writing down everything he had on Nora in his encrypted folder.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tkzHMFUOl
He opened the private page only he could access,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhsWf5CmQy
created a new file, and titled it: Nora V.
Below were a few concise categories:
- Writing (Batman-related fanfiction, pen name Nightnest)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwupZLnRVI
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tSgSv5Tfg - Preschool Teacher (legitimate, clean record)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzczFSeon6
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFbNHHjDh0 - Minimalist Lifestyle (inconsistent with disaster prep supplies)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcdUDaCFUU
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxO1JBnYhy - Emergency Supplies (food, water, filters, backpack, sleeping pad)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaL7crj0KS
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxYAXb4rCg - Firearms (research history, models, manufacturers)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUzvKHx9jC
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy80K8KCuOR - Combat Techniques (Highly concerning)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr35Rr9OeXj
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNQjmNFf1A
Tim paused, staring at the list with a deep frown.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkhDXXFpQn
—It didn’t make sense. This combination couldn’t form a psychological profile.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1smsdy7JXC
It was like someone had forcibly stitched together a “character setting.”
He anxiously stared at the screen.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64Dfd9gf2B
He didn’t like this kind of unclassifiable presence—this unpredictable variable.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQs3x3KXXnO
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.”196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3GKAm7HOm
Because if that entire guest room really was part of her survival prepping plan,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMLK4TEcNj
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0QytXafDj
It was her fighting style.
That was the part Tim couldn’t let go of.
In the Bat-family, combat followed a system.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKk70IsDomb
Even someone like Jason, who’d gone rogue, still showed traces of Bruce’s original techniques.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSIWKeaudT
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlZAAIINlq
Her every move looked like it came straight from the streets.
She had no form, no discipline—only intent.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOBlACVe3R
She climbed walls, flipped mid-air, punched—all aiming directly for vital points.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9tV6OUZ54
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLBVREygm0
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—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpdnnVwXRb
the bruise still visible on his face.
He looked at the man in the glass, and a single sentence surfaced in his mind:196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJO7n13f8Ln
—"Who the hell is she?"
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcD3llC7RxE
Because of last time’s failure,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrjewo2EoO
Tim decided to hold back this time—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡua3MUZSPmh
to wait for the right moment.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBofeU4eiCz
He knew he’d already spooked her.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8XgFCoeku
The signs were there.
Finn had been gloomy for an entire week.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpAKA8tSMH
He didn’t want to draw, didn’t want to play games,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FJIXSnLMK
and even his favorite snacks—he took a single bite and said, “I don’t want it.”
That’s not normal, Tim thought.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fxxw5ID48
Four-year-olds don’t suddenly change like that.
Then came the decisive piece of information:196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LrhcFcQBF
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwnCfXuIvo
Moving house + not calling the cops =196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEBtSIcRnm
She didn’t want anyone seeing that room.
She didn’t trust the police.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxO6WBlFnz
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—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGkjcRvrRl
He’d seen that pattern before,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LVpxRMTiI
in war zones, in disaster areas,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQGXhNKUQE
in places where staying alive mattered more than obeying the law.
And just as he was thinking that—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEd4F4PezX
the perfect opportunity came.
His sister, Leila, received an invitation from an old friend—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7vyhaPIDt
to board a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean for an entire month,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENrNRu2lW1
performing while enjoying a long vacation.
Leila hadn’t wanted to go.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErp2EI9ZKR
She always treated performing as a career, not a pleasure trip.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xSy2UcaCK
Besides, she had a child to care for.
But Jason had other ideas.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmhVe3IRqf
With that damn persuasive tone of his, he told her they finally had a chance to “leave Gotham behind”196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp247bmfbcF
and “live like an actual couple for once.”
“This is the one thing I’m begging you for,” Jason said to Leila.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa721ZkTw5M
“For four years, you’ve been Finn’s mom.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ilM0OPCrc
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.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgViZvZnze
An entire month.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3IBHIsRv6
Finn would be in his care.
He looked down at the planner on his lap.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOP9w6rw26u
His finger rested on that long, blank stretch of days.
—Here it is, Tim thought.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxooBxZreT
The perfect chance.
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and then Add to home screen.