The next evening, Tim was seated at the long dining table in Wayne Manor, having dinner with everyone.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5tPQwxcdk
He deliberately picked a seat at an angle, trying to keep the bruise on his cheek hidden in the shadows.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1rs7O6eA8
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeliTL10lmb
“Uncle! Your face—what happened?”
Tim tried to dodge, but the child was already leaning out of his seat.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeSA4oGecP
“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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22Ke0Pj4EP
“Pain, pain, fly away…!”
Damian froze, struggling to keep a straight face.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkg4BVxJgW
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUsMSHzmlx
Except for him, no one really cared where the bruise came from.
He chewed his bread with a blank expression—he had expected this.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJWDpd6LsI
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cpNK0GkCZ
“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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6XY0G8N5n
“Ahem… Why do you ask, Finn?”
Everyone’s attention now turned to the four-year-old.
Finn frowned, visibly upset.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQs78qkQMjJ
“Ms. Nora didn’t come today. The other teachers said her house got broken into, so she took the day off.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGiZz24OAf
“I think she must be really sad…”
He spoke softly, poking at the mashed pumpkin with his fork.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmmBqkuDdM
“So Grandpa,” he looked up, more serious this time,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTuBtjRU9A
“can you ask Batman to catch the thief for her?”
Tim "Thief" Drake lowered his head, thinking about his unbearably adorable nephew—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBz8BzFosbc
and desperately wished he could bury his face in the mashed potatoes and disappear.
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Tim sat at his computer, writing down everything he had on Nora in his encrypted folder.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5G8bxcWY2Q
He opened the private page only he could access,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5GU8lYigc
created a new file, and titled it: Nora V.
Below were a few concise categories:
- Writing (Batman-related fanfiction, pen name Nightnest)157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡestPogwMcq
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ioyXa0HcY - Preschool Teacher (legitimate, clean record)157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6DgQaDYTB
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQqANnMXZ4 - Minimalist Lifestyle (inconsistent with disaster prep supplies)157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WnJMyN6zY
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo7amYiB4z - Emergency Supplies (food, water, filters, backpack, sleeping pad)157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwY2R6APVa
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDK6Sqbi6l - Firearms (research history, models, manufacturers)157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxCg9VXnhz
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7AmtikXJ8 - Combat Techniques (Highly concerning)157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNC50h6pNJ
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoi7oTP4YRC
Tim paused, staring at the list with a deep frown.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LCErjwgiW
—It didn’t make sense. This combination couldn’t form a psychological profile.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqra9FZwPn1
It was like someone had forcibly stitched together a “character setting.”
He anxiously stared at the screen.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6tnAzpIb2
He didn’t like this kind of unclassifiable presence—this unpredictable variable.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKK4K03hqE
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.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujXj6lGvZQ
Because if that entire guest room really was part of her survival prepping plan,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvLguPFkTt
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSW39NB7pQ
It was her fighting style.
That was the part Tim couldn’t let go of.
In the Bat-family, combat followed a system.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CqOJ7fmEA
Even someone like Jason, who’d gone rogue, still showed traces of Bruce’s original techniques.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZC2B0r5ROV
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7slav6SAyU
Her every move looked like it came straight from the streets.
She had no form, no discipline—only intent.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaffTZWSjz
She climbed walls, flipped mid-air, punched—all aiming directly for vital points.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM15Xkp6p8H
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEZqBG9aVV
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—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwomvWWBxA
the bruise still visible on his face.
He looked at the man in the glass, and a single sentence surfaced in his mind:157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMCDPzPDev
—"Who the hell is she?"
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Because of last time’s failure,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMnp9qAa3e
Tim decided to hold back this time—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Dt7CBJDXx
to wait for the right moment.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYXoB2e5pG
He knew he’d already spooked her.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rBntBKTiR
The signs were there.
Finn had been gloomy for an entire week.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKYnk2TLTm
He didn’t want to draw, didn’t want to play games,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRUrRt2uyd
and even his favorite snacks—he took a single bite and said, “I don’t want it.”
That’s not normal, Tim thought.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8rh3Zp0AP
Four-year-olds don’t suddenly change like that.
Then came the decisive piece of information:157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVl7lChb38x
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6po4UF1uP
Moving house + not calling the cops =157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFrRQ28ANU
She didn’t want anyone seeing that room.
She didn’t trust the police.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKXYY5JAG5
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—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFhgxmBu1C
He’d seen that pattern before,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BsQTvprcT
in war zones, in disaster areas,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbSE1wGgl6
in places where staying alive mattered more than obeying the law.
And just as he was thinking that—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMG4NMCNEY
the perfect opportunity came.
His sister, Leila, received an invitation from an old friend—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHYEpcDhRK
to board a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean for an entire month,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJtDevKt1e
performing while enjoying a long vacation.
Leila hadn’t wanted to go.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZFIAGsYxf
She always treated performing as a career, not a pleasure trip.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4PEhDHc16
Besides, she had a child to care for.
But Jason had other ideas.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVxNMvIy9a
With that damn persuasive tone of his, he told her they finally had a chance to “leave Gotham behind”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS66A5RqrzY
and “live like an actual couple for once.”
“This is the one thing I’m begging you for,” Jason said to Leila.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkYFARFUlj
“For four years, you’ve been Finn’s mom.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI386mgc5CE
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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsCSqJLzg2
An entire month.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcwkP86qqO
Finn would be in his care.
He looked down at the planner on his lap.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZKC1sZyuI
His finger rested on that long, blank stretch of days.
—Here it is, Tim thought.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3q3QqU9ai9
The perfect chance.
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and then Add to home screen.