Nora was dreaming.
It had been so long since she last dreamed of the past—so long, in fact, that she’d wondered if she’d gone numb.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhE5dKnzl5p
Had she become so cold that even her subconscious had stopped reminding her of what once was?144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPghE6SiN8G
All those memories, all those past lives, seemed to have been swallowed whole by time, leaving nothing behind.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51IjaWwLV5
She had tried to recall, but couldn't even grasp a single image.
But this time, the dream came in perfect clarity.
She was driving again.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wtNadGYOq
The engine purred beneath her, the road stretched endlessly ahead—no destination, no end in sight.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvRIrBNm4G
There was nothing visible beyond the horizon.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4d8Y1N8LH
Only a gut instinct urging her: keep driving, don’t stop.
“You have to make it safely,”144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmpCklBwII
That sentence echoed in her mind over and over.
Her hands trembled constantly, but she didn’t feel pain.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibRk4sNXoM
Not because she was numb—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtvAwjUeSM
But because she hadn’t felt pain in so long, her body had learned to suppress it, to function as a machine made for movement alone.
She blinked several times.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDn3XixYG0
Her vision blurred, like fog clouding the windshield, but she knew—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIXFndh65I
She still couldn’t stop.
She turned her head.
In the passenger seat, a group of small children sat quietly.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MymZ5b6h0
They were silent, like blades of grass waiting for dawn.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1y8YU2BSK4
Their faces felt familiar, but indistinct.
“Yes… the children…” she struggled to think.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbltWuSHEnx
“My mission is to transport the children… a whole van of children.”
The thought surfaced from the deepest part of her mind.
She tried to grip the wheel tighter.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlbpeq2QKn
The steering wheel pressed into her palms so hard they felt like splitting open.
She didn’t know where the van was heading.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqLiJJrgqR
But she knew one thing—
Almost there.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyK3FCHZTD
Almost there.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ren95dZeJ
She told herself, like soothing a frightened child.
Then, she clenched her teeth.
And in the next moment—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltVgmY26Hr
She realized her canines…144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vXohdgbDo
Were growing longer.
The air in the dream turned cold.
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Three days later.
Tim sat in the Batcave, surrounded by rows of surveillance monitors.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdyb0UqN7o
Voices buzzed through his headset as the patrol team reported in from all over the city.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxA2Z2A2647
Calmly, he toggled between camera feeds, issuing instructions through the comms, helping coordinate tonight’s patrol routes.
He flagged anomalies in each zone, then reassigned coverage areas to different team members.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2P8hx0jtNX
His tone was steady, mechanical, precise.
“East docks are unusually quiet. Nightwing, swing by for a check.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6taGXmdsQa
Red Hood, your area’s clear. Move north.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGgGAT0Cz3
Batman, repeating the update: patrol the route from City Hall to the hospital again. That zone was compromised two nights ago.”
Batman’s voice came through on the other end—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPE5ohKSLV
Harsh. Cold.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2RTW40bhi
Like the silent storm that followed a crisis.
Tim knew Bruce was angry.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1y4xlKrM2
Correction: the entire Wayne family was furious.
Nightwing was so mad he nearly stormed back to Gotham to physically confront someone.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMiYcTxLSb
Jason had already destroyed three motorcycle helmets during his patrols.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQpBx7LiXN
Bruce said nothing—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdN86O7AJ07
Which was worse.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8PJuKdftJ
He’d started a full internal audit of every education facility in Gotham,144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoxzhiGIzw
and if he uncovered the origin of the culprits, it was likely the entire criminal syndicate would disappear overnight.
As for Tim—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNWlC9h9v5
All he could do was stay calm and maintain command.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtwkXk6EAZ
It felt like the only thing left within his control.
He remembered that day—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtANzyWxvU
When Nora said she’d been shot, her voice so casual it sounded like a joke.
Then he got into the driver’s seat.
As he drove, he glanced sideways—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Rso5Dyeyz
Nora was crouched near the door, wrapping one of his emergency tourniquets tightly around her waist.
The wound was on her side, just above the hip.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprtuNsyAGL
Not fatal, but it had to hurt.
Tim noticed: there wasn’t as much blood as he’d feared. That gave him a sliver of relief.
But before he could ask anything,144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWT1WJphFEw
Nora had already walked to the back of the van, smiling as she asked the kids:
“Want to play a car-counting game?”
She said if they saw more than twenty cars go by, that meant they were almost home.
Tim nearly turned to stare at her.
But the kids believed her.
He thought: Finn only just learned to count to ten...
As he drove, he watched her from the mirror—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZSlAK9GZG
Her body visibly trembling from pain, but her face still smiling, comforting those frightened little souls.
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Tim managed to drive the van full of shaken children back into the city, straight to Gotham Central Police Station.
He had rehearsed it all in his head.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVP0ZlFkxg
Once they reached city limits, the logistics would kick into place—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2h0ZfAVJlN
Precise. Coordinated. Mechanical.
And indeed, it unfolded exactly as he planned:
Media outlets had already been contacted.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxyn9TbjGt
Press conference times, speaker order, and statements were all pre-arranged.
The kindergarten had dispatched staff to receive the children, calm parents, and liaise with officials.
Batcave support was at full throttle—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZxboM7NA7
Surveillance data was backed up and sent to the police.
The hospital had opened emergency lanes in advance.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwzJzBGGdz
The two teachers were immediately transferred upon arrival.
Everything unfolded according to Tim’s “perfect exit strategy.”
He personally announced that the main suspect and accomplices had been captured in the outskirts.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWt4z9GII1
To support that claim, Tim had Robin rush to the scene—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9tYd5LhUw
And they did, in fact, find unconscious criminals and leftover evidence.
He played the part flawlessly.
Outside the police station, parents had already gathered.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsLQozTy6w
When they saw their children return safe, the cries that erupted were like a tsunami.
Kids threw themselves at their parents, sobbing uncontrollably.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtU8NsnqWW1
One louder than the next—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ304ES06M48
Even Tim nearly lost control of his own emotions.
Thankfully, he had already arranged human barricades and visual shields.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT88ClvVCy2
Not a single child’s crying face was caught by media cameras.
As for Finn’s parents—Jason and Lyla—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMBKOPM3DT
They were abroad and couldn’t return for at least two more days.
So Bruce came himself to pick up Finn.
The moment those tear-filled blue eyes spotted his grandfather,144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonwgiXC3EN
he leapt forward like a tiny animal finally dropping its defenses,144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhpHTmLgdE
and clung to Bruce’s neck with everything he had.
For once, Bruce was at a loss for words.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQNgpa4tXv
All he could say was: “It’s okay. Grandpa’s here.”
The two teachers were transported safely to the hospital.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6HXTmsQ6H
Initial checks showed one had simply passed out from shock and would be fine after rest.
But just as Tim was still deep in post-crisis coordination at the station,144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKS8jsBWLRN
a call came through the hospital’s secure line—
Nora’s injury was far worse than they had initially thought.
The bullet had entered through her side, struck bone, then ricocheted, causing extensive internal damage.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYd0TR1I2FP
The doctor described it as a “small-scale explosion” inside her body.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfVaGYjFR6
Bleeding was severe and difficult to control.
The initial surgery couldn’t fix everything.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprDcEwQoIX
They had to stabilize her first, then proceed in phases.
The operation stretched across three days.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8I7gUUFgh
Two surgical teams rotated.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hapTbbtn5
Experts from general surgery, trauma, neurology, and orthopedics were brought in.
And now—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ245uOSbLho
Tim sat on a bench outside the police station.
He closed his tablet.
Tilted his head back.
And stared at the gray, heavy sky.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfh5438tD19
Speechless for a very, very long time.
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and then Add to home screen.