[English][DC-Batman] Nora - Extra Chapter: If We Had Met in College 3.2— Who Is the Legend?

Nora stood in the distance, using Motoko Kusanagi's body to observe the fight.

For a long time.

A very long time.

They fought from the rooftops on the eastern side of the district all the way to a parking structure in the west, crossing multiple buildings along the way. Tim repeatedly used his grappling gun and the surrounding terrain to create distance, while Damian chased after him like an enraged young leopard.

Through Motoko Kusanagi's eyes, Nora could see everything with perfect clarity.

Distance was almost meaningless to her.

Even from hundreds of meters away, she could clearly follow every movement the two of them made.

Especially since she was currently cloaked.

An invisible cyborg that remained perfectly still was about as noticeable as thin air.

So she observed at her leisure.

And analyzed the battle.

After careful observation, Nora reached a conclusion.

Tim was at a disadvantage.

Not because he lacked skill.

Because he had too many restrictions.

The only weapon in Tim's hands was his staff.

And one of the core principles of Batman's training was simple:

Do not kill.

The situation became even more troublesome because his opponent was a child.

There were many methods Tim could use against an adult enemy that he simply could not bring himself to use here.

Meanwhile, Damian had no such limitations.

He was carrying a sword.

And he was absolutely the type who would stab someone.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Without the slightest psychological burden.

Every attack was aimed at a vital point.

His mouth was even more dangerous than the sword.

"You're too slow."

"Drake."

"This is the level of Robin?"

"And Father chose you."

"How ridiculous."

Tim dodged another slash.

A vein began pulsing at his temple.

Damian continued relentlessly.

"The weak should surrender."

"It is the natural order."

"You've occupied a place that never belonged to you for far too long."

Standing in the distance, Nora suddenly understood why Nightwing had once hung this child upside down from a streetlight.

Really.

It made perfect sense.

Then, without warning, Damian changed his rhythm.

He deliberately exposed an opening.

Tim reacted instinctively and moved to counter.

The next second—

A flash of steel.

CLANG!

Tim's staff flew out of his hands.

It spun several times through the air before crashing onto the pavement.

Tim's pupils contracted.

Meanwhile, Damian had already recovered his stance and tightened his grip on the sword.

In an instant, the situation became—

Bare hands.

Versus.

A blade.

Nora had originally been leaning against a wall, quietly watching the fight.

But after seeing that—

She straightened.

And stepped out from her hiding place.

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Damian slowly advanced toward Tim.

Moonlight reflected off the katana in his hand, the blade gleaming with a cold, deadly light beneath the night sky.

There was not the slightest hesitation on the face of the Demon Son.

If anything, there was only the arrogance of someone completely certain of victory.

"Pathetic."

He took another step forward.

His green eyes dripped with contempt.

"You don't deserve to stand beside Father."

Tim didn't answer.

He simply tightened his fists.

His staff had been knocked away.

Now, all he had left was hand-to-hand combat.

Meanwhile, Damian still had a sword.

The situation was, admittedly, not ideal.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Damian's mouth.

The next second—

The katana rose once more.

His body shifted forward, preparing to lunge.

And then—

Damian's eyes widened.

His entire body suddenly sprang backward.

The movement was so abrupt it looked as though something had punched him directly in the face.

Tim froze.

What?

Damian landed and immediately adjusted his footing.

The katana swept sideways.

The blade sliced through empty air.

And hit absolutely nothing.

Yet Damian's expression only grew more serious.

Because from his perspective—

Something was there.

An invisible person.

Something unseen was attacking him.

And so, under Tim's utterly baffled gaze, Damian Wayne began fighting a patch of empty air.

And he was fighting with complete seriousness.

The katana flashed continuously through the darkness.

His feet moved rapidly across the rooftop.

Several times, he very clearly appeared to be blocking incoming attacks.

The entire scene looked unbelievably bizarre.

If an ordinary bystander happened to walk past, they would probably conclude that the child was experiencing some kind of psychiatric episode.

Damian swung his sword again and shouted furiously,

"You coward!"

"You actually brought reinforcements!"

The blade slashed forward once more.

Sparks exploded in midair.

As though the sword had genuinely collided with something.

Damian's green eyes narrowed.

"And you're invisible!"

"As expected of criminals!"

"Let's see how I defeat both of you!"

Tim remained where he was.

Slowly narrowing his eyes.

Invisible?

He looked back toward the battle.

Tim had fought Damian himself only moments ago.

He knew exactly how frightening the boy's reflexes, combat instincts, and observational skills were.

If Damian was taking this fight seriously—

Then there really was a third person present.

Someone capable of matching him blow for blow.

Someone who had forced this fearless little menace into a state of complete concentration.

Tim immediately began organizing the available information.

Invisible.

Extremely skilled in combat.

Current allegiance unknown.

Origin unknown.

Objective unknown.

Friend or enemy—

Unknown.

But the detail that bothered Tim the most was this:

Not once had the person spoken.

From beginning to end, the only voice echoing through the night belonged to Damian.

The boy's angry shouts bounced across the rooftops again and again.

As though he were battling someone who didn't exist.

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Then—

The moment Damian launched forward with a textbook thrust—

Something changed.

The blade that had seemed unstoppable suddenly froze in midair.

As though something had seized it.

Damian's pupils contracted instantly.

An utterly unreasonable force had locked his katana in place.

The next second—

That force twisted.

Hard.

A jolt shot through Damian's wrist.

Then the sword that had accompanied him for most of his life flew straight out of his hand.

CLANG—

The weapon skidded several meters across the rooftop.

Finally coming to a stop in the distance.

Damian froze.

That was his sword.

The weapon that had been with him for as long as he could remember.

His most familiar companion.

Something that had become so deeply woven into his life that it might as well have been part of his body.

It had never been separated from him before.

Standing nearby, Tim suddenly felt much better.

He still had no idea who this invisible stranger was.

But watching the little menace who had spent the last ten minutes trying to stab him finally suffer a setback—

Was undeniably satisfying.

Damian recovered quickly.

His expression darkened even further.

He immediately abandoned any attempt to retrieve the sword.

Instead, he shifted into a hand-to-hand combat stance.

After all, his training wasn't limited to swordsmanship.

Even unarmed—

Damian Wayne remained a very dangerous person.

Unfortunately—

Damian had no idea that this opponent was anything but normal.

Facing a military-grade cybernetic body was already unfair enough.

Facing one that was invisible made it even worse.

As a result, the fight ended very quickly.

So quickly that it was almost ridiculous.

Tim watched the entire thing happen with his own eyes.

Damian charged forward.

Then the air grabbed him.

The next moment, he was lifted completely off the ground.

And finally—

Like an angry kitten being carried by the scruff of its neck—

SLAM.

He hit the pavement.

His arms were pinned.

His legs were restrained.

Completely immobilized.

No matter how hard he struggled, it accomplished absolutely nothing.

Damian's face turned bright red with rage.

"Coward!"

"Cheater!"

"Release me!"

"I'll kill you!"

"Fight me properly!"

His voice echoed across the entire waterfront.

Tim ignored all of it.

He brushed the dust off his uniform and started walking forward.

Regardless of who this person was, there were still some things he needed to confirm.

So he stopped in front of what appeared to be empty air.

"Although I appreciate the help,"

Tim said,

"who are you?"

The night wind drifted through the docks.

The scene remained silent for several seconds.

The invisible stranger seemed to be thinking.

In fact, she seemed to be thinking for a suspiciously long time.

Long enough that Tim began wondering whether she was inventing an identity on the spot.

Finally, a voice answered.

"I was just passing by."

A woman's voice emerged from empty space.

A woman.

Tim paused.

His mind instantly crossed off a long list of possible suspects.

Damian paused too.

He even stopped struggling.

After fighting this person for so long, he hadn't managed to determine whether his opponent was male or female.

Then the invisible woman continued.

"I would like some rope to tie this child up."

"Do you happen to have any?"

Tim fell silent for a moment.

Years of vigilante training had taught him one important lesson:

Question everything.

So he asked,

"And what do you plan to do after tying him up?"

The air became quiet again.

As though she were genuinely considering the answer.

Two seconds passed.

Then the woman's voice returned.

With a hint of uncertainty.

"Um..."

"Give him to Batman?"

Tim: "..."

Damian: "..."

Both of them fell silent at the same time.

Because, somehow—

That answer sounded surprisingly reasonable.

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In Gotham, looking for Batman was, admittedly, a perfectly normal thing to do.

From a certain perspective, it was even the most correct answer possible.

Tim quietly began analyzing the situation.

Current known information:

Female.

Extremely dangerous in combat.

Capable of invisibility.

Has displayed no hostility.

And had just helped subdue Damian.

But beyond that—

Everything else was a question mark.

Tim was still considering how to continue extracting information when the person pinned to the ground exploded first.

"Release me!"

"You woman, let go of me!"

Damian struggled furiously.

Unfortunately, it accomplished absolutely nothing.

"Third Robin!"

Damian twisted around to glare at Tim.

"You're pathetic!"

"You actually needed a woman to help you!"

Tim had originally been debating whether or not to hand over the rope.

After hearing those comments—

He made his decision.

Yes.

Absolutely yes.

Immediately.

Without hesitation.

The stranger's identity remained unknown.

The number of suspicious details remained enormous.

But Damian was being so unbelievably irritating that Tim found himself no longer caring.

So he quietly opened one of his utility pouches, pulled out a length of rope, and extended it forward.

Since he couldn't actually see the person he was handing it to, the entire motion felt strangely similar to feeding a piece of rope to the air.

The next second, something happened right beside Damian.

As if an invisible hand had genuinely reached out and accepted the rope.

Tim raised an eyebrow.

At the very least, it proved that the person actually existed.

And that neither he nor the child had simultaneously lost their minds.

Then—

The rope began moving by itself.

The sight was remarkably unsettling.

Like something straight out of a haunted house.

Damian's wrists were secured first.

Then his ankles.

And finally, even his remaining freedom of movement was restricted.

The entire process was efficient.

Precise.

Professional.

Whoever was doing it had clearly tied people up before.

Frequently.

Meanwhile, Damian's mouth never stopped moving.

Not once.

"Cowards!"

"Cheaters!"

"Release me!"

"I'm going to hang all of you upside down!"

"When Father arrives, I swear I'll—"

"Third Robin, you—"

Tim found himself wondering how Bruce had survived the last few days.

After the tying process was finished—

Damian still hadn't stopped talking.

At this point, he resembled a portable loudspeaker operating at maximum capacity.

Nora knelt beside him and watched quietly for a moment.

Suddenly, she understood something.

She understood the expression Alfred occasionally wore whenever he looked at the Batfamily children.

So, quite naturally, she reached out.

And patted Damian on the head.

The way someone might soothe an angry kitten with its fur standing on end.

"Don't be upset."

Her voice was soft.

There was even a faint note of someone gently coaxing a child.

Green-eyed kitten Damian: "..."

Damian froze.

Completely.

For one brief moment, his mind went blank.

Because nobody had ever done that to him before.

From Tim's perspective, the scene was even stranger.

All he saw was a section of Damian's hair suddenly being pressed downward.

As though an invisible hand was petting him.

Tim fell silent.

Damian fell silent.

Even the wind sweeping through the docks seemed to pause for a few seconds.

Then—

Damian's face began turning red.

Visibly.

Rapidly.

Like someone had flipped a switch.

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Just then, a familiar voice suddenly cut through the night.

"Timmy!"

The voice came from somewhere nearby.

And it was getting closer.

"Did you actually manage to subdue him?"

Tim turned his head.

And immediately felt a headache coming on.

Because the person who had arrived was Jason.

Fully suited up as Red Hood.

Jason jumped down from the top of a shipping container, landing with almost no sound at all. The movement was smooth and light, like some kind of large predator dropping from above.

As he approached, he scanned the scene.

Especially Tim.

And the moment he confirmed that Tim was still standing there in one piece, he visibly relaxed.

Honestly.

He really didn't want Tim getting hurt.

Tim had never been among the strongest fighters in the Batfamily.

And more importantly—

Leila would be upset if he got injured.

That was the real issue.

Sure, years ago Jason himself had returned to Gotham intending to reclaim the Robin title.

But things were different now.

Completely different.

There wasn't a single thing Leila disliked that he was willing to do.

Jason walked closer.

Then he noticed Damian.

Tied up from head to toe.

Lying neatly on the ground.

Like a package waiting to be shipped.

Jason immediately burst out laughing.

"Tsk, tsk."

"Now that's a beautiful sight..."

Damian exploded instantly.

"Shut up!"

"Todd!"

"I'll—"

However—

The next second, Jason's expression changed.

It was a very subtle change.

Barely noticeable.

But Tim knew him too well.

He recognized immediately that something was wrong.

Jason's body dropped lower.

Then—

Like a wolf lunging at prey, he shot forward.

Completely bypassing Damian.

Charging toward a patch of ground that appeared completely empty.

Tim's stomach immediately sank.

Oh no.

"Wait!"

Tim rushed forward at once.

But he was already too late.

Jason's reaction speed was simply too fast.

The next second—

A collision echoed through the air.

Then came the unmistakable sounds of close-quarters combat.

Jason was already fighting the invisible person.

And unlike Damian, who had been completely overwhelmed earlier—

Jason was an entirely different class of opponent.

His strength and physical build were on another level.

Damian was the agile type.

Jason, on the other hand, was a genuine heavy tank.

Once he got his hands on you—

Things became very complicated.

Tim ran toward them while shouting,

"Wait!"

"She doesn't mean any harm!"

Jason heard him.

But he didn't stop.

Or rather—

It was precisely because he heard him that he became even less likely to stop.

The most dangerous things in Gotham were never the people with obvious malicious intent.

They were the things nobody knew how to identify.

A few seconds later—

Jason got hold of her.

A textbook grappling technique locked down all four limbs before slamming the target to the ground.

But the moment he secured the hold—

Jason frowned.

Because something felt wrong.

Too heavy.

Way too heavy.

And the strength was absurd.

No normal human should weigh this much.

Or be this strong.

It felt like—

He was restraining some kind of machine.

Jason's expression became serious.

He didn't loosen his grip.

Instead, he spoke directly to the empty air.

"Who are you?"

No response.

Jason narrowed his eyes.

Then added a second question.

"You're not human?"

Tim, who had originally been trying to stop him, froze.

Because that possibility had never even crossed his mind.

Elsewhere—

Nora's brain was running at maximum speed.

Motoko Kusanagi's body.

Could not be exposed.

Her own identity.

Could not be exposed either.

The problem was that Jason looked serious.

Very serious.

The kind of serious that made her feel like if she answered one question incorrectly—

The next thing she knew, she'd be slung over someone's shoulder and hauled straight to the Batcave for interrogation.

And the worst part—

Tim was starting to suspect something too.

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Nora fell silent.

For a very long time.

Long enough that even Damian stopped struggling and started looking at her with an expression that clearly said:

Have you run out of excuses?

Finally, Nora spoke.

"I can guarantee that Robin knows me."

Jason immediately turned toward Tim.

The expression on Tim's face was remarkable.

Shock.

Confusion.

An existential crisis.

All three emotions had somehow merged together.

Jason laughed immediately.

Then lowered his gaze toward the invisible person pinned beneath him.

"I don't think so."

He nodded toward Tim.

"Does that look like someone recognizing you?"

Tim: "..."

Tim actually wanted to argue.

The problem was—

He really was shocked.

Nora sighed internally.

Originally, she had planned to leave quietly.

At this point, it seemed that wasn't happening unless she revealed something.

After a moment of thought, she spoke again.

"If you let go of me, I'll disable the camouflage."

Jason rejected the proposal instantly.

"No."

"You disable the camouflage first."

"Then I'll let go."

Nora: "..."

Jason: "..."

Nora fell silent once more.

Suddenly, she found herself missing the version of Damian that simply tried to stab her.

At least that one was straightforward.

Finally, she gritted her teeth.

There was no other option.

"Fine."

"I'm turning it off."

The next second—

The optical camouflage disengaged.

The invisibility vanished.

And then—

Time seemed to stop.

Jason, holding the invisible stranger.

Damian, tied up from head to toe.

Tim, standing nearby.

All three of them saw the same thing.

A naked woman suddenly materialized out of thin air in Jason's arms.

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Nobody had paid attention when she was invisible.

Now that everything was visible—

The situation suddenly became a serious problem.

Jason immediately screamed.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Letting go wasn't an option.

Not letting go wasn't an option either.

Because from any possible angle, the current scene looked like he had brought a woman to the docks in the middle of the night to do something deeply inappropriate.

And under absolutely no circumstances could Leila ever see this.

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Tim, meanwhile, froze.

His brain completely shut down for two seconds.

But Tim didn't have time to process what he was seeing.

His body reacted before his mind caught up.

In one swift motion, he unclasped his cape, stepped forward, and wrapped it around her shoulders, completely covering the exposed body.

The movement was so fast it looked like pure instinct.

Only then did he regain the ability to speak.

Uncertainly, he asked,

"Motoko... Kusanagi?"

Nora: "..."

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On the other side—

Damian had stopped struggling entirely.

His green eyes were wide.

Very wide.

His entire worldview had just suffered catastrophic damage.

The League of Assassins maintained strict standards.

Extremely strict standards.

But no matter how rigorous the training—

Nobody had ever taught him how to respond to this situation.

And so—

For the first time in his life, the future fourth Robin began questioning reality itself.

Was this...

Was this what Gotham was like?

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