The next evening, Tim was seated at the long dining table in Wayne Manor, having dinner with everyone.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡats1dxaNRt
He deliberately picked a seat at an angle, trying to keep the bruise on his cheek hidden in the shadows.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrtKK08k7U
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHKThYIHfZ
“Uncle! Your face—what happened?”
Tim tried to dodge, but the child was already leaning out of his seat.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡet4HNE0Ir7
“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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DPjB57hWf
“Pain, pain, fly away…!”
Damian froze, struggling to keep a straight face.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0H4zezkBUE
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtxMdYaz3N
Except for him, no one really cared where the bruise came from.
He chewed his bread with a blank expression—he had expected this.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHl758GqzVw
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKtQtqlDGz
“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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEymdOBIVjg
“Ahem… Why do you ask, Finn?”
Everyone’s attention now turned to the four-year-old.
Finn frowned, visibly upset.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa18xPH2TvK
“Ms. Nora didn’t come today. The other teachers said her house got broken into, so she took the day off.”122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyFxjmpfPX
“I think she must be really sad…”
He spoke softly, poking at the mashed pumpkin with his fork.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfAVyuHsRU
“So Grandpa,” he looked up, more serious this time,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOxB71oNRw
“can you ask Batman to catch the thief for her?”
Tim "Thief" Drake lowered his head, thinking about his unbearably adorable nephew—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOLMA0hqzq
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxn47NHhZ0T
He opened the private page only he could access,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZYZhXqioL
created a new file, and titled it: Nora V.
Below were a few concise categories:
- Writing (Batman-related fanfiction, pen name Nightnest)122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdPSJcwXGp
122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIPsDeYHT6 - Preschool Teacher (legitimate, clean record)122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqG1gUDFCa
122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5Cuu2mrSk - Minimalist Lifestyle (inconsistent with disaster prep supplies)122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3EdDKxnDw
122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzv2mfWtRQ - Emergency Supplies (food, water, filters, backpack, sleeping pad)122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBSX07hzDv
122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGeoPJgK0I - Firearms (research history, models, manufacturers)122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdv5IXI2Wd
122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6A0Xy6oXO - Combat Techniques (Highly concerning)122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaH37pDb8R
122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAWxQoetMG
Tim paused, staring at the list with a deep frown.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqwPGVt7T4
—It didn’t make sense. This combination couldn’t form a psychological profile.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOofGBX3NUg
It was like someone had forcibly stitched together a “character setting.”
He anxiously stared at the screen.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzOg1uqDR3
He didn’t like this kind of unclassifiable presence—this unpredictable variable.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW31Br8OF2s
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.”122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCxzdGs494
Because if that entire guest room really was part of her survival prepping plan,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaMvhkaKis
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI80gDdlt7X
It was her fighting style.
That was the part Tim couldn’t let go of.
In the Bat-family, combat followed a system.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESTHTBKga4
Even someone like Jason, who’d gone rogue, still showed traces of Bruce’s original techniques.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6abiQHuvTD
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsk4DDD5eAE
Her every move looked like it came straight from the streets.
She had no form, no discipline—only intent.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TsX9IiJ82
She climbed walls, flipped mid-air, punched—all aiming directly for vital points.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXlNBYdb4i
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXBhYemfbx
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—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIv8Wpek3u
the bruise still visible on his face.
He looked at the man in the glass, and a single sentence surfaced in his mind:122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7ejbd2uVI
—"Who the hell is she?"
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Because of last time’s failure,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xHGHZ7ory
Tim decided to hold back this time—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqRt6FvaC2
to wait for the right moment.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1urO5Lwkv
He knew he’d already spooked her.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4bNZxNRRt
The signs were there.
Finn had been gloomy for an entire week.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5vXM6Wsxr
He didn’t want to draw, didn’t want to play games,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxRoHwYiJC
and even his favorite snacks—he took a single bite and said, “I don’t want it.”
That’s not normal, Tim thought.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf46aOA0zfc
Four-year-olds don’t suddenly change like that.
Then came the decisive piece of information:122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0laiJ1XxXW
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWU362cMOs
Moving house + not calling the cops =122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EpgYPtroy
She didn’t want anyone seeing that room.
She didn’t trust the police.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQ0hfrOn1T
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—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9zOAf4ntm
He’d seen that pattern before,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JVjpFk1Bl
in war zones, in disaster areas,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxAmjWsYEw
in places where staying alive mattered more than obeying the law.
And just as he was thinking that—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglokbLLqrg
the perfect opportunity came.
His sister, Leila, received an invitation from an old friend—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0SyB557E5
to board a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean for an entire month,122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKU6ho0zL3
performing while enjoying a long vacation.
Leila hadn’t wanted to go.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65Xst1cNHb
She always treated performing as a career, not a pleasure trip.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrZvPY9dnh
Besides, she had a child to care for.
But Jason had other ideas.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxe5id1wf8
With that damn persuasive tone of his, he told her they finally had a chance to “leave Gotham behind”122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggVFehsHRo
and “live like an actual couple for once.”
“This is the one thing I’m begging you for,” Jason said to Leila.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz739nLm9W
“For four years, you’ve been Finn’s mom.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbGuTsPyef
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.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BI4MrGAAK
An entire month.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7GXOBW5Sy
Finn would be in his care.
He looked down at the planner on his lap.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjoOsR3Zbv
His finger rested on that long, blank stretch of days.
—Here it is, Tim thought.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BxcosRU02
The perfect chance.
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and then Add to home screen.