Two Months Later, at Night
The girl sat at the edge of the bed.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ywvsBGSye
Only a small lamp was on in the room, casting a soft, warm light.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWd4ZjJkRZ
She held the boy’s hand, gently applying ointment to his sore muscles,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqu5ZZf8VC
careful to avoid the bandage wrapped around his palm.
Jason didn’t speak.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSb3o7gJzef
He lowered his head, letting her tend to him.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZkiSFQdUR
But his eyes kept sneaking glances at her face.
That face, usually framed with a quiet smile,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHOTroNR80
was now furrowed with worry—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhPJeNBBxX
as if she were hurting in his place.
He was the one who had gone to Batman.
When Bruce began arranging ability tests for Nana,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDr5E83KmtJ
Jason knocked on the heavy, solemn door of the Batcave—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFNekRYzBG
for the first time, on his own.
He stood before Bruce and said,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGybAX0GeO
voice steady and sincere:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1T1a1c6hgH
“I want to train. I want to be stronger. I want to… protect her.”
Batman didn’t respond right away.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6m2aa19eu
He just stared at the boy in silence for a long time.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaYIrvwlbS
Then, finally—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtoRpDFlPP
he nodded.
From that day forward,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcOKnOo9pq
Jason began his training.
Real training.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOs3rlbEcWw
Not games.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9MOSOpiUT
Not gym class.
Batman’s standard—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUNNhXOOx2
harsher even than what he gave to Robin.
Jason collapsed into bed every night,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOUp46PJvo
waking up sore and bruised.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtR0AEsJn4X
His hands grew calloused,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDvtajPJmM
his steps grew heavy.
But when he heard Nana’s voice at night,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZOrG8rXR4
softly calling his name,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSWMz3nRcK
while she gently rubbed ointment on his arms and said,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmeo7snMoR
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
He smiled—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrPdPNvEaJ
the kind that bloomed from deep inside the chest.
For pain like this,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqv20DkIp52
it was worth it.
Inside the Batcave
Dick flipped through the pages of Nana’s test results.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNK9trnlALP
Each page deepened the crease between his brows.
He murmured under his breath:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08DCUni23B
“This kid’s power… it’s no joke.”
So far, Batman had categorized her abilities into two main types:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg63TCjQj0W
Command and Healing.
And “Command” branched further—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYodh281fie
into Action and Object subtypes.
Even in the earliest tests,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4aQPyIh3Q
those two alone had stunned the whole team.
The first time she was tested,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckjlI500MH
Nana spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeaYObuOyt
“Stand up.”
The next second—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGx7q9ElhgD
everyone in the room—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eBp8rZ16a
Dick, Alfred, Jason, even Batman himself—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkzxXGkReo
stood up.
Not out of comprehension,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaNxFkJAQr
but reaction.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOk46WYH1r
As if the words bypassed their brains and went straight to the nerves.
The second test was even more shocking.
Nana stared at the emblem on Batman’s chest and said:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFaa8Hpd9F
“Give me the Bat symbol.”
Batman didn’t move.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MKSLW4lhr
But the emblem on his suit vanished—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZGZqKFDRP
and with a soft clink, fell to the floor at Nana’s feet.
The room fell dead silent.
Batman immediately began further testing—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXePBM5j76
on range, volume, and correlation with her throat pain index.
Then it happened—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuF7qzPPXV
the one test Dick personally stopped.
That day, Bruce calmly instructed:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxKXbmARyY
“Say something that would make the mouse’s eyes appear in front of you.”
Nana froze.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNDLZJXIwR
Her whole body trembled.
She slowly turned toward the white lab mouse on the table.
Her lips trembled.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVNBnwt5qg
Her voice was a breeze through dry leaves:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVxTVbEaIr
“…Eyes… come…”
In the next instant—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdiRSsEtsy
two small, blood-threaded eyeballs dropped to the floor.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0klA0tgIxa
The mouse twitched twice, then lay still.
Nana clutched her throat,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAdjWGRuYr
eyes shut tight, tears streaming down.
Dick rushed forward, grabbing her by the shoulders:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABLecsq5zg
“Nana, that’s enough. Stop. Don’t say another word.”
Then he turned toward the eyes on the ground,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkbEeweItF
his gaze sharp as ice.
He clenched his fists.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4BwJbFe66
A dark weight churned in his chest.
This wasn’t just a girl with a strange ability.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVD0XbdqHHI
This…36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROHYeopYXF
this could unbalance the entire city.
There was also healing.
That same voice—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmm8b7qgqWp
which could command, demand, and destroy—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUhOwIYexC
also possessed the power to restore.
It became the only reassuring factor36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fwWNGdkEp
amid her terrifying potential.
One year later,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JEwl4Ql6u
Wayne Manor had quietly changed in many ways.
Bruce, with his meticulous—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0roUav1R3P
some would say obsessive—testing,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyFvpq4e74
had established a vital rule:
“No command sentences.”
Batman instructed Nana firmly:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UAjvHhKrq
stick to objective statements and questions.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU67lOQX72f
Commands—even as simple as “sit down” or “pick up the gun”—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGDtWBPEZo
could lead to irreversible consequences.
Nana accepted this.
She began learning how to speak.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqx5rrtqCo
Slowly.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XvUgzM3aV
Her voice was hoarse—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09If2yR3i2
but it was hers.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnIuQ1CZSH
Chosen by her own will.
And in all her spoken words,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM37R3hH10j
the one name she said most often36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcd7Z1e7nF
remained the same:
“Jason.”
One night,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvbDIDW1Ak
Alfred woke her from a deep sleep.
Before she could fully react,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztJH5Oqcfb
she saw the old butler’s anxious face.
“Master Bruce is injured. It’s… it’s very serious. I know he may not approve of this, but—”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
Nana was already on her feet,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEX6nzkL6y4
following him down to the Batcave.
That night,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2i1yfTdAZW
she sat beside Bruce’s bed,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmYRODSsE7
his arm covered in blood.
Her hands trembled as they gripped his arm.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaAsrBweKW
She closed her eyes—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqfSAUVyiL
and with a voice barely louder than the grave,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnONgN17YG
she whispered again and again,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAf82V7hyrP
like casting a spell:
“Heal… quickly… please… recover…”
From a distance,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoTwP56TKx
Jason stood watching her.
And in his heart,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnKyLAJVPu
something shifted.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHe07vlsbt
and then Add to home screen.