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.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4a9Cjbxo4U
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.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7Jic4QE03
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?181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UKsY1lemp
Uniform updates? Timeline of field appearances?
He ran through a few technical explanations—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23uKJWbRi0
but none of them quite fit.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaJGhnOUwx
She didn’t come off as someone who calculated.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSr7rcGBnb8
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—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaow47snJqB
like a jigsaw puzzle halfway done: some pieces jammed, others suddenly clicking together.
Wait.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnNVqap6pp
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”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzIZpcwFPh
was now… of age?
Would she start writing about him?
He wasn’t curious about the content—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PhwjI4996
No, this was just… a professional assessment.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhv0DUFs5vY
Yes, a risk projection, not personal interest.
And if she did start writing…181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYz0DUCxfdO
that would mean she’d been keeping an eye on him.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmVpmRagXF
Wouldn’t it?
Wait—no. Stop.
I should go to bed.
Tim loudly told himself:181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2x8NermZ5
It’s 3:42 A.M.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtA8cKjerV
I’ve already reviewed thirty-eight anonymous files today.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Zm5SlyYWP
If I don’t sleep now, I’ll misread intel tomorrow.
Why am I even wondering if Nora would start writing fanfic about me?181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBS7Bs1AZi6
Why do I… care?
No. This was professional anxiety.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUwc6cegXi
Part of Bat-Family information security protocols.
Yes.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rZFWojWzl
Sleep. No more browsing.
Tim slammed the laptop shut—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTQQQZx3i5
as if slamming the door on temptation itself.
The chair creaked behind him as he stood,181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtN4jsWRxSr
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—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGVeMFNl7z
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—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVA43kU63M
the kind who casually wrote things like,181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6zx5R3nkd
“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—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTy4vG2Wb7E
the kid would probably laugh himself breathless, then go ask Bruce:181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUmWE74zTr
“So… what do you think of Finn’s teacher writing fanfic about you and… yourself?”
No.
This had to be buried in the night.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFDPmHdq99
No one in the Bat-Family could ever know.
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86jNU7Xy42
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuCnsThLxz
Tim shoved the whole thing to the back of his mind.
Like stashing a bizarre dream into a folder marked181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoZSF0JXlG
“Low Risk / No Action”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrpyRsHEKU
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?181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuj8k67wOWL
Maybe it had just been a teacher’s instinct.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1sVyBGJve
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,181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauK9F1P1cN
there weren’t blueprints for bombs, or surveillance tapes—
but instead—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdFtp1jokr
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.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSI32vVKaoh
Gentle smile.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCVzb5AceO
Painstaking lesson plans.
And then at night, under an anonymous handle,181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYp3qGGRh8j
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.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFqhVSx2Aa
Lack of malicious intent didn’t mean lack of risk.
The better she was at writing…181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzmc8wu8su
the more likely she might one day write something too accurate.
So he checked her system.
Installed a barely-there monitoring script—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCuyr85Jyw
so subtle it wouldn’t interfere with daily use.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JQ7WoRW4e
It would only trigger if specific keywords were typed.
If anything questionable showed up,181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0ipzWZDGO
Tim would be notified first.
Not automatically blocked.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQL5k4YSEQ4
He’d assess it himself.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbK60vvoLk2
A baseline courtesy—to respect creative freedom.
This should be enough, he thought.
Leaning back in his chair,181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvDvy3hnPX
he wrapped up the day’s backup logs181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpK50O0sjj
and turned to other vigilante data reports.
But unfortunately…181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwNztfhnrA
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—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8klE6yYwRN
only to explode in the middle of dead silence.
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsl6gJjEIq6
One week later—
Tim’s computer lit up in warning.
Not a regular alert.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2WFXqKJ5l
It was one of his high-priority personal triggers.
It popped from the corner of his screen—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZzoKh6BQj
flashing red.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6v8bSS5QMq
Loud system ping.
Tim reacted instantly.
Fingers darted to the trackpad on reflex.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKQlUG7BhR
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—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1b8uUS7ZEp
blank for a second—then rapidly expanded the full input log.
Nora Virell181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGulfCqDsh
Search time: 11:42 P.M.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasFfDDBMLg
Device: Personal computer.
Entered queries:
- “Where to buy bullets in Gotham right now”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZhk8PYpnX
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yasckcDVP - “Black market weapon price list”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQE7iMvi7J
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraJrcHbWlQ - “Handgun usage tutorial”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh77bztEc9N
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6zTShUuMt
Tim stared at the screen—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwH4ThUU7Uz
and felt his chest begin to tighten.
Tim was thinking.
He didn’t jump to conclusions.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKn1pPNkXlR
Not right away.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMyd6QMZSn
Like always, he mentally arranged all the possible explanations in rapid succession.
He tried to reason it out—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzm0J8xNVr
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.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX4cXDmtlJ
Maybe a character was trying to stop an arms deal.
Something like that.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XdSi98Fsr
Trying to recreate that sense of danger.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEs9HdgipP9
Or exploring a character’s discomfort with firearms—how they reacted to pulling the trigger.
He’d read those kinds of stories before.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIvk7gET6A
Some of them were frighteningly realistic.
But unfortunately—Nora proved him wrong.
She wasn’t just skimming scenarios.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUhOler34s
She wasn’t just dipping in and out.
She was seriously browsing.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpMSZWP6GO
Spending over thirty seconds per page.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfs7uiJpC0
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”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SJCmHOnLG
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9MnUtsxF1 - “Small caliber vs large caliber”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgfwGbSnrZ
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tawOOmFS4 - “Civilian vs law enforcement firearm pricing”181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgquFPcofn
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ItkFJctbd
Those weren’t things a character needed to know.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMsZNxxD5b
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.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThHljoL1ui
She was evaluating—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSswkIId14
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—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08u7XvQARc
a rising, sharp anxiety began flooding in.
She’s a teacher. Finn’s teacher.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡej5HGob4Nu
She works in a kindergarten.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHQAq715eq
Teaches kids to draw, tells them stories, shows them how to say “I’m sorry.”
What would she need a gun for?
For protection?181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQi50JIlz50
For something else?
Where did she learn it?181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV03hKXZ72Q
Has she been trained?181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1yhV1K0Gk
Does she know how to use one?181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcAvGxgNoU
Would she use it on someone?
Tim couldn’t let this go.
This wasn’t about artistic freedom.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq99GXxMSp
This wasn’t just a passing curiosity.
This was a potential armed individual demonstrating suspicious behavior.
He needed to understand her threat level—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAnBllkkq7
and eliminate any possible risk.
That didn’t mean punishment.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdYcEgJPSP
But it did mean removing danger—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHuM3ST0ZZ
before it ever had the chance to grow teeth.
Tim moved his fingers.
The keyboard’s backlight flickered faintly as the windows expanded again—181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwmua7jKID
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.181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxWGyp6cHk
His tone unspoken.
This time—he was going to find out, personally.
What the hell is she planning?
181Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3n4ETd7uz
and then Add to home screen.