The next evening, Tim was seated at the long dining table in Wayne Manor, having dinner with everyone.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejBopktpkc
He deliberately picked a seat at an angle, trying to keep the bruise on his cheek hidden in the shadows.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWaxArCydg
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?”
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKiDH5H9JC
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZUUE5naRj
“Uncle! Your face—what happened?”
Tim tried to dodge, but the child was already leaning out of his seat.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNS8EZaXI2R
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhfFsfNFJh
“Pain, pain, fly away…!”
Damian froze, struggling to keep a straight face.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJXhUGLLkI
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG2s92I3s7
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vdZQR5XG9
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZYa818r7f
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyG8D4Oecg9
“Ahem… Why do you ask, Finn?”
Everyone’s attention now turned to the four-year-old.
Finn frowned, visibly upset.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtEbHKv4d0
“Ms. Nora didn’t come today. The other teachers said her house got broken into, so she took the day off.”196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHes7mP3Ned
“I think she must be really sad…”
He spoke softly, poking at the mashed pumpkin with his fork.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPi6GG3mWZH
“So Grandpa,” he looked up, more serious this time,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBxKSdR4Js
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxeLSLrhoB
and desperately wished he could bury his face in the mashed potatoes and disappear.
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSOHNOrIAt
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ805pIgUv2i
Tim sat at his computer, writing down everything he had on Nora in his encrypted folder.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnipEGejI7
He opened the private page only he could access,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQfGXFvXcE
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBxz0t5mSI
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhADGTrpQGB - Preschool Teacher (legitimate, clean record)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpM6pf7MT02
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUu8uZ6jBx - Minimalist Lifestyle (inconsistent with disaster prep supplies)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCdoD7NaEC
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIxOrGTRlz - Emergency Supplies (food, water, filters, backpack, sleeping pad)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKMYDpIMlk
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MZQXgKJUa - Firearms (research history, models, manufacturers)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIC5krB5vXn
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKyJWpX3o0 - Combat Techniques (Highly concerning)196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmneSWd33O
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTRvDbcYpe
Tim paused, staring at the list with a deep frown.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4XJJ9ldkF
—It didn’t make sense. This combination couldn’t form a psychological profile.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTzIhDFxGJ
It was like someone had forcibly stitched together a “character setting.”
He anxiously stared at the screen.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbXqY26Zy8
He didn’t like this kind of unclassifiable presence—this unpredictable variable.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxUC4UPWw3
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRsVemtVes
Because if that entire guest room really was part of her survival prepping plan,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9q7PiW4co9
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡni0R9cAEjk
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWjAhl1Lkc
Even someone like Jason, who’d gone rogue, still showed traces of Bruce’s original techniques.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwGZriVecM
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IIH7FqMaC
Her every move looked like it came straight from the streets.
She had no form, no discipline—only intent.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXcHxMI0LH
She climbed walls, flipped mid-air, punched—all aiming directly for vital points.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyedXAT6Pb
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLEKa39Tur
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBufvb2ZMLw
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI7KcSVrIj
—"Who the hell is she?"
196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTmSgAK4sL
Because of last time’s failure,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsQ2YkY7iM
Tim decided to hold back this time—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyrd3tWXAN
to wait for the right moment.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuBvs0uISo
He knew he’d already spooked her.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOro7Yl9whm
The signs were there.
Finn had been gloomy for an entire week.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4Gp85Dphv
He didn’t want to draw, didn’t want to play games,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzIvE1xq3n
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPLye7jG7I
Four-year-olds don’t suddenly change like that.
Then came the decisive piece of information:196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtn4bIUYx5
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTLuJVRDsF
Moving house + not calling the cops =196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0kIRZcQ8Y
She didn’t want anyone seeing that room.
She didn’t trust the police.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GBC6UwEOB
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BwittBJjU
He’d seen that pattern before,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzPa91pP1w
in war zones, in disaster areas,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfpm8PWbkY
in places where staying alive mattered more than obeying the law.
And just as he was thinking that—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B5N7521dB
the perfect opportunity came.
His sister, Leila, received an invitation from an old friend—196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBxA9elvGp
to board a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean for an entire month,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZ16W5WSv5
performing while enjoying a long vacation.
Leila hadn’t wanted to go.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9t9tW9I52
She always treated performing as a career, not a pleasure trip.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDsURrBDkb
Besides, she had a child to care for.
But Jason had other ideas.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhLebkHrPv
With that damn persuasive tone of his, he told her they finally had a chance to “leave Gotham behind”196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0b9HJwRVIO
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJwBZyHKcB
“For four years, you’ve been Finn’s mom.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgchFeJ0wW
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9oxnFzaxQ
An entire month.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1AUKcyGVR
Finn would be in his care.
He looked down at the planner on his lap.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSPtVBJm6O
His finger rested on that long, blank stretch of days.
—Here it is, Tim thought.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4P4zLdmXe
The perfect chance.
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and then Add to home screen.