Tim was wearing his Red Robin suit.
The all-black gear absorbed light instead of reflecting it,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbR0kCrOFx
with only the red emblem on his chest gleaming faintly—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8iVSLXnDM
like a suppressed warning in the dead of night.
Wind brushed past his ears.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwDdEmms3F
His cape swayed gently as he stood on top of a Gotham high-rise.
He rarely went out on missions anymore.
These days, unless it was a major emergency, he didn’t join field operations.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLCdmQmVMM
His primary role was intel coordination and debriefing—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12OxGW3n5C
the brain and central node between vigilantes.
His battlefield was usually the Batcomputer.
But tonight, he needed an answer.
Not about a crime syndicate.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Fmev6kmoG
Not about a new supervillain.
But about—why a kindergarten teacher needed to buy a gun.
So he’d made a decision:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQcaso32Am
he would investigate Nora’s apartment.
No tech infiltration.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZA1KqHsYTD
No hacking into her credit card records.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTF0V36wtoy
No tapping into her building’s surveillance feed.
He would go himself.
He knew this bordered on burglary.
He knew entering a woman’s home—even for investigation—was skating a thin ethical line.
But after evaluating everything, he deemed it a necessary step.
Because if she was a threat, he could assess it faster than any system.
And if she wasn’t—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡameXMFpZPO
he needed to know what she was hiding.
This would show him her true intent.
Computer records could be faked.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfG1dWHCf9k
Schedules could be masked.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DrjSQqLiI
But a person’s possessions, habits, and space—they didn’t lie.
Tim had already done some research:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvD1DOxghUM
Nora had a gym membership.
According to card swipes, she visited regularly between 8 and 9 p.m.,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8vBV55f6v
four times a week on average.
That membership log gave Tim his window.
One hour—enough time to get in, look around, and leave.
No traces.
So he made his decision.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJbE4pNOKd
No delay. No one else would know.
This was a mission.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZKEAZfV1O
He told himself—it was a personal-level operation.
Gotham’s night air was colder than usual.
Tim looked up, spotting the distant clock tower ticking to 8:00 p.m. sharp.
He turned—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbfT3DpvjV
and vanished from the edge of the rooftop.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UU56ylQT8
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhynzw7QgHY
Tim arrived outside her apartment window.
He had already bypassed security cameras, heat sensors, and two layers of anti-theft mesh.
His movements were silent—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWi7AF88kJK
a single drop of shadow slipping into the edge of this aging Gotham apartment.
Inside, it was pitch-black.
No lights on.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrDXiloUu4
Curtains drawn tight.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7A8QSXLjjy
No glow spilling from within.
Tim slid on his infrared goggles.
The world turned to black and red—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIVBuF8zMd
heat signatures glowing, air remaining void.
The apartment showed no heat traces.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoR4IBM4qgL
She’d been gone for over an hour.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uzuMkLvz5
Confirmed—consistent with her gym check-in.
He tapped a few codes on the electronic lock.
Within seconds, it clicked—soft and clean.
No alarms. No flashing lights.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7eT3PkNmU
Her system was too basic.
Tim stepped inside quietly.
He walked along the carpet’s edge,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hfElktbMs
avoiding floorboards that might creak.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeconA9kMdp
Every step was calculated—like a practiced equation.
First stop: the living room.
Hmm… how to put this—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RkS7QHkzN
completely empty.
So empty, in fact, that Tim instinctively scanned it three times—just to make sure he hadn’t missed something.
In his mental archives, women usually liked decorating their spaces.
Whether soft and cozy or sharp and minimalist,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQwxI84yBL
there was typically some kind of stylistic imprint.
His sister Leila, for example, turned every wall into an exhibition—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWW5Wn7VM3
framed vintage photos, pages from antique books, old phonographs—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCT9u8mqjaA
stories stacked into the soul of a home.
But this place?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjo87I45OG
Utterly barren.
The living room had one sofa.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrU3pTzZ8Ej
No pillows. No blankets.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1D67wG0k3s
Clean, sharp… and cold—like a real estate sample unit.
Had she just moved in?
No—Nora had lived here for four years.
She’d moved in while still in school and never changed addresses.
That made Tim frown.
He moved into the kitchen.
It was the same.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz23Lprnl6G
Cold.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanbdusBMkB
Not the kind of space someone really lived in.
Basic cookware.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFfWmK1mD3
No opened food packages.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuE1HIXX04t
No kitchen towels. No sticky notes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecd6JvMUG6
Not even a coffee maker.
Just a four-piece ceramic cup set—barely used.
Then came the bedroom.
Tim pushed the door open, already trying to predict what he’d find.
No surprise—it was just as empty.
Basic double bed.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcM5KOWTi5G
Plain gray-and-white sheets.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnQiKkiDeB
No patterns.
The desk was the cheapest IKEA model.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64pi9ihVq2
The chair still had the dust cover on.
The only thing with a trace of humanity—was the laptop on the desk.
Tim frowned again.
In his mind, there were only a few explanations.
She was a radical minimalist.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdoi9Noq8C
Or—
She was ready to leave at any moment.
The whole place looked like a space prepped for sudden evacuation.
No sentimental clutter.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoVVpUsHVI
No lingering warmth.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjykBwU40JH
No intention to stay.
Tim moved toward the final door—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfa4qjGO9TV
a closed-off guest room.
He wasn’t expecting much.
Given everything so far, he assumed it’d just be another empty, echoing room.
He opened the door.
And froze.
The inside—was packed.
The entire room had been turned into a storage unit.
Shelves stacked with bottled water and canned goods—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgIG31Ca9u
neatly labeled and sorted.
In the corner were two large hiking backpacks,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vYMr2xyqJ
a pile of foldable sleeping mats,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV06dyK9xpr
and even a collapsible solar panel.
The room was full.
This wasn’t a doomsday hoarder’s collection.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnL1ddNAis
This wasn’t a camper’s setup.
This was a retreat room.
A shelter built for survival in the event of a city collapse or world-ending disaster.
Tim felt a tightness rise in his throat.
This—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHU3HlRdkM
was something he had never predicted.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5xIf1Dkb1
So this Nora—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpVYYMttvq
was not only a fanfic writer,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwTIt2mRFV
but also a… doomsday prepper?
Tim stood frozen at the doorway,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBPd0KACVQ
unable to reconcile the stockpiled survival gear with the image of the gentle kindergarten teacher.
This wasn’t ordinary hoarding.
This was systematic, segmented, trained preparation—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomeeiaDzaR
the same kind of contingency protocols they had for Gotham:
Power grid failure.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXA7DCZ5jzI
Communication blackouts.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzjhp4CnuV
Toxin attacks.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3fAJUyIhB
Widespread civil unrest...
This woman was prepping for the fall of the city.
Names flashed through Tim’s mind—those extremists he’d personally monitored.
The ones who built bunkers, buried weapons,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OsmVmnJGT
or moved off-grid to live in fallout shelters.
But those people usually looked the part—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVlsHthbG2
disheveled, paranoid, erratic.
Not like Nora.
She was calm, kind, composed in class.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5UKNyL5tJ
Her home minimalistic. Her routines clean.
These two puzzle pieces didn’t fit at all.
No…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfFIy0tV8e
This woman needs further analysis, Tim thought.
There had to be something he didn’t know.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvH0tZ1oAJ
Something—her past? Her background?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdVae4wvSw
Something she’d experienced?
A woman doesn’t stockpile this much survival gear by accident.
Was she one of those end-of-the-world believers?
Or—
CRACK.
A sharp sound.
The light above snapped on.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YRp51xQKH
Blinding white light seared into Tim’s retinas—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbVdiQz1MJ
he didn’t have time to switch out of infrared.
Then—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7iyoSTeGB
a sharp kick struck his side.
His body flipped, slammed into the wall.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4P1GZv06KS
Cans crashed from the shelves, rolling across the floor in a metallic cacophony.
He dropped low, pivoted hard, knees skidding across the floor to stabilize.
His infrared goggles flew off.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavZWjIsFHh
He tore them away just in time to look up—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JdnW7L8PF
and saw her.
Nora.
Somehow, she was back.
He had no idea why,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnxl00OfWN
or when she’d noticed his presence.
She’d already changed out of her work clothes—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHeEJOQ9S8
now wearing loose, casual clothing.
But none of that dulled her explosiveness.
Tim hadn’t even regained his footing when she charged again.
She pushed off the wall, body launching mid-air—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMgsUoyGik
like a trained paratrooper—aiming a brutal split-kick at his center.
The space was tight.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcM4lpDgmHp
This wasn’t a flashy move—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkITIwqk0dg
this was a precision strike, meant to disable.
Tim gritted his teeth and dodged, twisting just enough—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvTVu9Q7Jj
but still took a glancing hit to the shoulder.
He rolled sideways, bracing on his elbow,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymSv3cJQmW
already calculating escape routes in his head.
This woman... was no ordinary civilian.
Her movements had no formal pattern—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4uv5X2kWE
but each one hit weak points with zero hesitation.
No theatrics.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CVPEgtMwT
Just brutal efficiency.
Like someone who’d survived underground fight rings—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxLcGlJZPM
trained to kill a threat in the shortest time possible.
This was not a skillset kindergarten teachers were supposed to have.
Tim dodged again, coldly analyzing as he moved.
This woman has secrets.
Too many.
But one thing he had decided for sure—
He was pulling out.
That last reverse kick had caught his cheekbone.
His face throbbed.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VQBTyK8me
It was definitely going to bruise.
He tapped a device at his waist.
“Tsssh—”
A burst.
White smoke exploded instantly.
It was one of the Batcave’s own—non-toxic, flash-particle-enhanced smoke bombs.
Nora instinctively stepped back, shielding her eyes.
Tim darted out through the side.
Three strides to the window.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYr8u8fD4pv
Hooked the grapple.
And leapt.
The cold wind slammed into him.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwpcAP6XTE
Gotham’s night sky felt just as heavy, just as oppressive as ever.
He ascended quickly with the line.
Looked down—
Nora was standing at the window.
She didn’t chase.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AAyAqbL5C
She didn’t hide.
She just stood there,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssyGNEUScZ
green eyes locked on him.
As if she was measuring his build.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKCHKIlCWc
Or maybe—
calculating.
What is she thinking?
Tim didn’t know.
But something in his gut…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0okV9Vp2B
was screaming again.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQCQhAsHo9
and then Add to home screen.