The next evening, Tim was seated at the long dining table in Wayne Manor, having dinner with everyone.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvK6gWERaX
He deliberately picked a seat at an angle, trying to keep the bruise on his cheek hidden in the shadows.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfLcZF0ZMy
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRrm3N4D9O
“Uncle! Your face—what happened?”
Tim tried to dodge, but the child was already leaning out of his seat.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmb3tVOlnO
“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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmpHKAo4rG
“Pain, pain, fly away…!”
Damian froze, struggling to keep a straight face.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFs63utzrd
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgFVZaCzd2
Except for him, no one really cared where the bruise came from.
He chewed his bread with a blank expression—he had expected this.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIuqh1n1lU
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOvYlzJ2zM
“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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbFfqMHAA1
“Ahem… Why do you ask, Finn?”
Everyone’s attention now turned to the four-year-old.
Finn frowned, visibly upset.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPLS1fFgKw
“Ms. Nora didn’t come today. The other teachers said her house got broken into, so she took the day off.”195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvRncMZgII
“I think she must be really sad…”
He spoke softly, poking at the mashed pumpkin with his fork.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPI3NeqrPc
“So Grandpa,” he looked up, more serious this time,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOD0H0afzwS
“can you ask Batman to catch the thief for her?”
Tim "Thief" Drake lowered his head, thinking about his unbearably adorable nephew—195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGseudF8Ce
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzSUeoU2t0
He opened the private page only he could access,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnuINNqxvN
created a new file, and titled it: Nora V.
Below were a few concise categories:
- Writing (Batman-related fanfiction, pen name Nightnest)195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8A6EHp80N
195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqU0nQLpAqZ - Preschool Teacher (legitimate, clean record)195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIbFhzBuii
195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYSBtSmvx3 - Minimalist Lifestyle (inconsistent with disaster prep supplies)195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVJ58okTWN
195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Euox5rX9z - Emergency Supplies (food, water, filters, backpack, sleeping pad)195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECqS1smRHM
195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpU4TUj4qM - Firearms (research history, models, manufacturers)195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjrEDi2CtG
195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTUu5StQHu - Combat Techniques (Highly concerning)195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovTsKbM24K
195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3mjBk585n
Tim paused, staring at the list with a deep frown.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxN3DkFzzqp
—It didn’t make sense. This combination couldn’t form a psychological profile.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWkDcst1pt
It was like someone had forcibly stitched together a “character setting.”
He anxiously stared at the screen.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQWVTcbCi2
He didn’t like this kind of unclassifiable presence—this unpredictable variable.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFD3xYTa41w
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.”195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMBTNjoeSN
Because if that entire guest room really was part of her survival prepping plan,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dZXI1fxF4
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L3qLvakqs
It was her fighting style.
That was the part Tim couldn’t let go of.
In the Bat-family, combat followed a system.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZsvmQF2Jf
Even someone like Jason, who’d gone rogue, still showed traces of Bruce’s original techniques.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxvhFeLcBs
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAV4pCcuzP
Her every move looked like it came straight from the streets.
She had no form, no discipline—only intent.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSc0ioS2cE
She climbed walls, flipped mid-air, punched—all aiming directly for vital points.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCULOrJYNUW
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdy0ng3EAGL
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—195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgk2BGdKjw
the bruise still visible on his face.
He looked at the man in the glass, and a single sentence surfaced in his mind:195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkW6u0wxEM
—"Who the hell is she?"
195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbfmlz7Mm0
Because of last time’s failure,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCpA5ynLmz
Tim decided to hold back this time—195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Yp32oQT0N
to wait for the right moment.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWcWbM6jNr
He knew he’d already spooked her.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxL2gr0UWp
The signs were there.
Finn had been gloomy for an entire week.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YthJ9IKzg
He didn’t want to draw, didn’t want to play games,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bjOmhOOAq
and even his favorite snacks—he took a single bite and said, “I don’t want it.”
That’s not normal, Tim thought.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2zLmeYrJL
Four-year-olds don’t suddenly change like that.
Then came the decisive piece of information:195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULAIPjxhv8
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMyJzfEuLO
Moving house + not calling the cops =195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeH2hz7F0T
She didn’t want anyone seeing that room.
She didn’t trust the police.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeProJbPVhP
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—195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTEHKarL5Q
He’d seen that pattern before,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZoZBHZNSX
in war zones, in disaster areas,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCbMbYnaFX
in places where staying alive mattered more than obeying the law.
And just as he was thinking that—195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡke7bewLyKW
the perfect opportunity came.
His sister, Leila, received an invitation from an old friend—195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJTLbDcXBY
to board a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean for an entire month,195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78BPtSwxfG
performing while enjoying a long vacation.
Leila hadn’t wanted to go.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2T6UTqqBBE
She always treated performing as a career, not a pleasure trip.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3APcrlcVI
Besides, she had a child to care for.
But Jason had other ideas.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVphqgpsNnr
With that damn persuasive tone of his, he told her they finally had a chance to “leave Gotham behind”195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIcCbW6DFi
and “live like an actual couple for once.”
“This is the one thing I’m begging you for,” Jason said to Leila.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSPgW7dUpK
“For four years, you’ve been Finn’s mom.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhx6YR5oybK
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.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIKcI7qIzB
An entire month.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJ5rZZKxxx
Finn would be in his care.
He looked down at the planner on his lap.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReMBhAK6Ln
His finger rested on that long, blank stretch of days.
—Here it is, Tim thought.195Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoycTtuJJS2
The perfect chance.
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and then Add to home screen.