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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDoWxlOEf3
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNstQsMq8G
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?47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjG8cl6YqT
Uniform updates? Timeline of field appearances?
He ran through a few technical explanations—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyc06n0IAGn
but none of them quite fit.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6Lqzefusk
She didn’t come off as someone who calculated.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFwebjXn0I
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—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdbR989lyH
like a jigsaw puzzle halfway done: some pieces jammed, others suddenly clicking together.
Wait.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2Ae8Byvcj
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”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD99UC0vJoq
was now… of age?
Would she start writing about him?
He wasn’t curious about the content—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTOtUYZg0f
No, this was just… a professional assessment.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOcfcdAeXW
Yes, a risk projection, not personal interest.
And if she did start writing…47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoEJf4QyOf
that would mean she’d been keeping an eye on him.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKc5dUz5pj
Wouldn’t it?
Wait—no. Stop.
I should go to bed.
Tim loudly told himself:47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdw11bEamwk
It’s 3:42 A.M.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtQAYCm2li
I’ve already reviewed thirty-eight anonymous files today.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhk4moZRQzf
If I don’t sleep now, I’ll misread intel tomorrow.
Why am I even wondering if Nora would start writing fanfic about me?47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MMtcJyGkf
Why do I… care?
No. This was professional anxiety.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLa8a31N3a
Part of Bat-Family information security protocols.
Yes.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PtGPbASzg
Sleep. No more browsing.
Tim slammed the laptop shut—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtmfC7EKp1
as if slamming the door on temptation itself.
The chair creaked behind him as he stood,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6Rp0LjhW0
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—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3i7zySOcYI
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—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRaun9pgME
the kind who casually wrote things like,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaMhsFnprv
“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—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMMjJdAJyb
the kid would probably laugh himself breathless, then go ask Bruce:47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGobfkOnc4
“So… what do you think of Finn’s teacher writing fanfic about you and… yourself?”
No.
This had to be buried in the night.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcoRU3YKoS
No one in the Bat-Family could ever know.
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxDoIeaNBV
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkTvKgXJd3
Tim shoved the whole thing to the back of his mind.
Like stashing a bizarre dream into a folder marked47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMJMfM8GQH
“Low Risk / No Action”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmJUW7JzUq
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?47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjLswiDlP1
Maybe it had just been a teacher’s instinct.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOLguTgdPe
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,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCz6z4uNVDp
there weren’t blueprints for bombs, or surveillance tapes—
but instead—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQlUB3BG44
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrKTCyE4Bs
Gentle smile.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNiaWa3rS9
Painstaking lesson plans.
And then at night, under an anonymous handle,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWyDbaupDf
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAP7zr8FXz
Lack of malicious intent didn’t mean lack of risk.
The better she was at writing…47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCykFnCrj9K
the more likely she might one day write something too accurate.
So he checked her system.
Installed a barely-there monitoring script—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7OBVxXG0V
so subtle it wouldn’t interfere with daily use.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rOSNnG77g
It would only trigger if specific keywords were typed.
If anything questionable showed up,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgL4PLxBmS
Tim would be notified first.
Not automatically blocked.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSefT2qQqw5
He’d assess it himself.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVnm0fQbup
A baseline courtesy—to respect creative freedom.
This should be enough, he thought.
Leaning back in his chair,47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89BR33ZR63
he wrapped up the day’s backup logs47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhN0WgjSL5r
and turned to other vigilante data reports.
But unfortunately…47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMydvYeUGQ
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—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uKen4UaLN
only to explode in the middle of dead silence.
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVaZJXc4b8
One week later—
Tim’s computer lit up in warning.
Not a regular alert.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT4Qib0ttD
It was one of his high-priority personal triggers.
It popped from the corner of his screen—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeJZzu20rc
flashing red.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpQQtoVAez
Loud system ping.
Tim reacted instantly.
Fingers darted to the trackpad on reflex.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYFGgCaD1R
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—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCspyHkCafY
blank for a second—then rapidly expanded the full input log.
Nora Virell47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jYz6KxbBR
Search time: 11:42 P.M.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOC1CrztnmI
Device: Personal computer.
Entered queries:
- “Where to buy bullets in Gotham right now”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QNjSOgvyw
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhxgVS4iog - “Black market weapon price list”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY42eQPypJ5
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSw6JTU9Ns - “Handgun usage tutorial”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDE56NnZRIp
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQhSwCYain
Tim stared at the screen—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwPKMYOdOE
and felt his chest begin to tighten.
Tim was thinking.
He didn’t jump to conclusions.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKs0QUwJ37
Not right away.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1ezqYAviF
Like always, he mentally arranged all the possible explanations in rapid succession.
He tried to reason it out—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGgGnpCgvk
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8i802Q7Qv
Maybe a character was trying to stop an arms deal.
Something like that.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqJhKAecYT
Trying to recreate that sense of danger.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDv11vilZj
Or exploring a character’s discomfort with firearms—how they reacted to pulling the trigger.
He’d read those kinds of stories before.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlamWvolLY
Some of them were frighteningly realistic.
But unfortunately—Nora proved him wrong.
She wasn’t just skimming scenarios.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSHiwt1Vb3
She wasn’t just dipping in and out.
She was seriously browsing.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSa2Ak4EWy
Spending over thirty seconds per page.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3utGt0Y9Y0
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”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIKwpYUBqf
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzInAzGkqe - “Small caliber vs large caliber”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNvHfqbm6K
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthXpAxtltN - “Civilian vs law enforcement firearm pricing”47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJrFI5bdQ7
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1uf55PjpQ
Those weren’t things a character needed to know.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2drZin6UXO
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgrSKT5uin
She was evaluating—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0bizaVQXu
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—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKgCbtkVZe
a rising, sharp anxiety began flooding in.
She’s a teacher. Finn’s teacher.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJERU74rwB5
She works in a kindergarten.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKf2DTMRYw
Teaches kids to draw, tells them stories, shows them how to say “I’m sorry.”
What would she need a gun for?
For protection?47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFNMPe1v2G
For something else?
Where did she learn it?47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczZPNo7Y2i
Has she been trained?47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7L1UHH0wN
Does she know how to use one?47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYlUVDT7zE
Would she use it on someone?
Tim couldn’t let this go.
This wasn’t about artistic freedom.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5hZLWxjb0
This wasn’t just a passing curiosity.
This was a potential armed individual demonstrating suspicious behavior.
He needed to understand her threat level—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJe03X8VrEy
and eliminate any possible risk.
That didn’t mean punishment.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsG1aHBuGSP
But it did mean removing danger—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkOVzmVTuK
before it ever had the chance to grow teeth.
Tim moved his fingers.
The keyboard’s backlight flickered faintly as the windows expanded again—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6Ze7GaYpA
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIa4uAvzaJT
His tone unspoken.
This time—he was going to find out, personally.
What the hell is she planning?
47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCc6ijFeHaW
and then Add to home screen.