Two Months Later, at Night
The girl sat at the edge of the bed.20Please respect copyright.PENANAk9aCjtiFcT
Only a small lamp was on in the room, casting a soft, warm light.20Please respect copyright.PENANAb6JGy60k4l
She held the boy’s hand, gently applying ointment to his sore muscles,20Please respect copyright.PENANAVlZZXeTpUN
careful to avoid the bandage wrapped around his palm.
Jason didn’t speak.20Please respect copyright.PENANAhg4VLNGywP
He lowered his head, letting her tend to him.20Please respect copyright.PENANA9f2l42B9rz
But his eyes kept sneaking glances at her face.
That face, usually framed with a quiet smile,20Please respect copyright.PENANAe3Wdh43DTk
was now furrowed with worry—20Please respect copyright.PENANATFIkn3UIoB
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,20Please respect copyright.PENANA4ouictSMxK
Jason knocked on the heavy, solemn door of the Batcave—20Please respect copyright.PENANAWCcRXbXiWA
for the first time, on his own.
He stood before Bruce and said,20Please respect copyright.PENANAf9VDwZkF3e
voice steady and sincere:20Please respect copyright.PENANAlXO9H0xYeP
“I want to train. I want to be stronger. I want to… protect her.”
Batman didn’t respond right away.20Please respect copyright.PENANA2qYqQc37I4
He just stared at the boy in silence for a long time.20Please respect copyright.PENANAeID2KrUkch
Then, finally—20Please respect copyright.PENANAm6RgOfx2DG
he nodded.
From that day forward,20Please respect copyright.PENANANvJSnUYfT6
Jason began his training.
Real training.20Please respect copyright.PENANAis8s5akDrB
Not games.20Please respect copyright.PENANAUffAhRiLak
Not gym class.
Batman’s standard—20Please respect copyright.PENANAt4MNGfx5Hn
harsher even than what he gave to Robin.
Jason collapsed into bed every night,20Please respect copyright.PENANAmWw6e9LC0v
waking up sore and bruised.20Please respect copyright.PENANAdTE7KJAqIO
His hands grew calloused,20Please respect copyright.PENANAmB1itTLooh
his steps grew heavy.
But when he heard Nana’s voice at night,20Please respect copyright.PENANAv5GdH8kNum
softly calling his name,20Please respect copyright.PENANAD39ZYFyGox
while she gently rubbed ointment on his arms and said,20Please respect copyright.PENANAPhJVWp34kR
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
He smiled—20Please respect copyright.PENANAk9rN2LLbXR
the kind that bloomed from deep inside the chest.
For pain like this,20Please respect copyright.PENANAirM7NO6AAb
it was worth it.
Inside the Batcave
Dick flipped through the pages of Nana’s test results.20Please respect copyright.PENANA5ST8XKwm2w
Each page deepened the crease between his brows.
He murmured under his breath:20Please respect copyright.PENANADOh3cPg35K
“This kid’s power… it’s no joke.”
So far, Batman had categorized her abilities into two main types:20Please respect copyright.PENANAMcME8rDCDA
Command and Healing.
And “Command” branched further—20Please respect copyright.PENANAoU0amUcopI
into Action and Object subtypes.
Even in the earliest tests,20Please respect copyright.PENANAmNNPorowQC
those two alone had stunned the whole team.
The first time she was tested,20Please respect copyright.PENANAp3LPf3VehT
Nana spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper:20Please respect copyright.PENANAhMd8nGRsjV
“Stand up.”
The next second—20Please respect copyright.PENANAslcxvVGTk1
everyone in the room—20Please respect copyright.PENANA8mfJpsJOA0
Dick, Alfred, Jason, even Batman himself—20Please respect copyright.PENANA89CK7tCsd8
stood up.
Not out of comprehension,20Please respect copyright.PENANAuelxZfgr2S
but reaction.20Please respect copyright.PENANA0gKCeuseOE
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:20Please respect copyright.PENANAsp0QveLPzt
“Give me the Bat symbol.”
Batman didn’t move.20Please respect copyright.PENANAKboVGHDurM
But the emblem on his suit vanished—20Please respect copyright.PENANA5GsAa0di5X
and with a soft clink, fell to the floor at Nana’s feet.
The room fell dead silent.
Batman immediately began further testing—20Please respect copyright.PENANAb8Rb7D5Qlx
on range, volume, and correlation with her throat pain index.
Then it happened—20Please respect copyright.PENANA6RMdaenUNu
the one test Dick personally stopped.
That day, Bruce calmly instructed:20Please respect copyright.PENANA06Y7NT5NkA
“Say something that would make the mouse’s eyes appear in front of you.”
Nana froze.20Please respect copyright.PENANAGRU5Wrlm1L
Her whole body trembled.
She slowly turned toward the white lab mouse on the table.
Her lips trembled.20Please respect copyright.PENANAgfMzu0qHvl
Her voice was a breeze through dry leaves:20Please respect copyright.PENANA4eRAzMlypW
“…Eyes… come…”
In the next instant—20Please respect copyright.PENANAxcq28ruKrb
two small, blood-threaded eyeballs dropped to the floor.20Please respect copyright.PENANAhJib38TZE0
The mouse twitched twice, then lay still.
Nana clutched her throat,20Please respect copyright.PENANAG0gpCalL18
eyes shut tight, tears streaming down.
Dick rushed forward, grabbing her by the shoulders:20Please respect copyright.PENANAtfqcBOhMzd
“Nana, that’s enough. Stop. Don’t say another word.”
Then he turned toward the eyes on the ground,20Please respect copyright.PENANAwv7ut9DxJc
his gaze sharp as ice.
He clenched his fists.20Please respect copyright.PENANA7ya84JJYJ8
A dark weight churned in his chest.
This wasn’t just a girl with a strange ability.20Please respect copyright.PENANAhnpnH4vSJn
This…20Please respect copyright.PENANA2BojzNueYs
this could unbalance the entire city.
There was also healing.
That same voice—20Please respect copyright.PENANARC8WMeM9y8
which could command, demand, and destroy—20Please respect copyright.PENANAAWdKw9RdYo
also possessed the power to restore.
It became the only reassuring factor20Please respect copyright.PENANAE3MRL8FJ54
amid her terrifying potential.
One year later,20Please respect copyright.PENANAmw3qm4rPcj
Wayne Manor had quietly changed in many ways.
Bruce, with his meticulous—20Please respect copyright.PENANAVQ1CLuC6bZ
some would say obsessive—testing,20Please respect copyright.PENANACMyqqOapOp
had established a vital rule:
“No command sentences.”
Batman instructed Nana firmly:20Please respect copyright.PENANA5ku9s4vKqP
stick to objective statements and questions.20Please respect copyright.PENANAvstdgudGjz
Commands—even as simple as “sit down” or “pick up the gun”—20Please respect copyright.PENANAVxPMNnGwHo
could lead to irreversible consequences.
Nana accepted this.
She began learning how to speak.20Please respect copyright.PENANAQhMLpLb1BB
Slowly.20Please respect copyright.PENANAaiy4WbNfkc
Her voice was hoarse—20Please respect copyright.PENANAhPPpJ4rqjc
but it was hers.20Please respect copyright.PENANA2vjWhc9Ekx
Chosen by her own will.
And in all her spoken words,20Please respect copyright.PENANAxeOOy2BeJ9
the one name she said most often20Please respect copyright.PENANAnej4wpPPyU
remained the same:
“Jason.”
One night,20Please respect copyright.PENANAC5uZGYfFlo
Alfred woke her from a deep sleep.
Before she could fully react,20Please respect copyright.PENANAuCRD3taP0O
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,20Please respect copyright.PENANAtRFuo1HMSL
following him down to the Batcave.
That night,20Please respect copyright.PENANAmXOGkMHyNJ
she sat beside Bruce’s bed,20Please respect copyright.PENANAUg23jHJ9st
his arm covered in blood.
Her hands trembled as they gripped his arm.20Please respect copyright.PENANAVWKrsQGfHV
She closed her eyes—20Please respect copyright.PENANA50p47xE6Lw
and with a voice barely louder than the grave,20Please respect copyright.PENANADzn1uoWVPa
she whispered again and again,20Please respect copyright.PENANAkF28mCegIc
like casting a spell:
“Heal… quickly… please… recover…”
From a distance,20Please respect copyright.PENANAqeqHWyjJJK
Jason stood watching her.
And in his heart,20Please respect copyright.PENANA29WuT30W2a
something shifted.
20Please respect copyright.PENANA2YQyyyMjpe