Two Months Later, at Night
The girl sat at the edge of the bed.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzjScQm4Uc
Only a small lamp was on in the room, casting a soft, warm light.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgrtbxaBpH
She held the boy’s hand, gently applying ointment to his sore muscles,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZO7N9NpSap
careful to avoid the bandage wrapped around his palm.
Jason didn’t speak.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREhSMxR0mw
He lowered his head, letting her tend to him.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjrhNnwf2D
But his eyes kept sneaking glances at her face.
That face, usually framed with a quiet smile,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2yd1dqvGQ
was now furrowed with worry—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wPM0oCfUf
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,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgR5tJiBX1
Jason knocked on the heavy, solemn door of the Batcave—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVX1dKYBqYT
for the first time, on his own.
He stood before Bruce and said,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TBx6sJTQr
voice steady and sincere:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUL5pD4gQi
“I want to train. I want to be stronger. I want to… protect her.”
Batman didn’t respond right away.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4zGtQ4EOm
He just stared at the boy in silence for a long time.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIj8jIbqxe
Then, finally—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTISnx71lHU
he nodded.
From that day forward,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xEGHvSMpB
Jason began his training.
Real training.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafDn9csvti
Not games.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KaoF9pUzW
Not gym class.
Batman’s standard—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSpc7W5ZJk
harsher even than what he gave to Robin.
Jason collapsed into bed every night,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCD9D6QVEJ
waking up sore and bruised.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0TMOwhloH
His hands grew calloused,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8REIStZGG
his steps grew heavy.
But when he heard Nana’s voice at night,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0WF30uET7
softly calling his name,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4ZQ8SWUHl
while she gently rubbed ointment on his arms and said,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpYoJapEsf
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
He smiled—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OjXN5RRt1
the kind that bloomed from deep inside the chest.
For pain like this,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoF4RMuCMk
it was worth it.
Inside the Batcave
Dick flipped through the pages of Nana’s test results.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8vCZsAVf6
Each page deepened the crease between his brows.
He murmured under his breath:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYwRfGZ9Wj
“This kid’s power… it’s no joke.”
So far, Batman had categorized her abilities into two main types:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgGrCJf9PA
Command and Healing.
And “Command” branched further—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFgtUtrbhY
into Action and Object subtypes.
Even in the earliest tests,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2huvVDFmJH
those two alone had stunned the whole team.
The first time she was tested,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghdpMV7qEU
Nana spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELxFvlTro1
“Stand up.”
The next second—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZX91uXZvGk
everyone in the room—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbf2MUmNXE4
Dick, Alfred, Jason, even Batman himself—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKW2ZcAcRfy
stood up.
Not out of comprehension,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5rg1Cehcp
but reaction.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASZTHSdB5r
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:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOMxcBZhgm
“Give me the Bat symbol.”
Batman didn’t move.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KxTqnQaZu
But the emblem on his suit vanished—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkdBs0OjRp
and with a soft clink, fell to the floor at Nana’s feet.
The room fell dead silent.
Batman immediately began further testing—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZbSoGTUI9
on range, volume, and correlation with her throat pain index.
Then it happened—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREJCLeDmFl
the one test Dick personally stopped.
That day, Bruce calmly instructed:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMwA9OUpbg
“Say something that would make the mouse’s eyes appear in front of you.”
Nana froze.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDtQh5UhEt
Her whole body trembled.
She slowly turned toward the white lab mouse on the table.
Her lips trembled.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxi03qxYxRW
Her voice was a breeze through dry leaves:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwdGEOVgO4
“…Eyes… come…”
In the next instant—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNt97wIUuvO
two small, blood-threaded eyeballs dropped to the floor.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNMLYzUhjL
The mouse twitched twice, then lay still.
Nana clutched her throat,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAXILHf8bv
eyes shut tight, tears streaming down.
Dick rushed forward, grabbing her by the shoulders:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaFMqHrNQm
“Nana, that’s enough. Stop. Don’t say another word.”
Then he turned toward the eyes on the ground,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajgP8DUdLz
his gaze sharp as ice.
He clenched his fists.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohsK7onnzl
A dark weight churned in his chest.
This wasn’t just a girl with a strange ability.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTU96LQMOs6
This…11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQjJMoWFHj
this could unbalance the entire city.
There was also healing.
That same voice—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieh9e8L2jt
which could command, demand, and destroy—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWAwq1dxul
also possessed the power to restore.
It became the only reassuring factor11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGST3J0Jtwp
amid her terrifying potential.
One year later,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK5Pn3lhOx
Wayne Manor had quietly changed in many ways.
Bruce, with his meticulous—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8dyaxyG7R
some would say obsessive—testing,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFR6HgPEiXW
had established a vital rule:
“No command sentences.”
Batman instructed Nana firmly:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhrqo30tGF
stick to objective statements and questions.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9CIPeyr35
Commands—even as simple as “sit down” or “pick up the gun”—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27YMaktckP
could lead to irreversible consequences.
Nana accepted this.
She began learning how to speak.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmF6wWnZRMV
Slowly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Z6lG88RxP
Her voice was hoarse—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6St1x4VOJe
but it was hers.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyECP9sihj
Chosen by her own will.
And in all her spoken words,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtftsgsxdpG
the one name she said most often11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7UTfhV9rk
remained the same:
“Jason.”
One night,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzareBkvX5m
Alfred woke her from a deep sleep.
Before she could fully react,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2Ut354B38
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,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4W2Sade4g
following him down to the Batcave.
That night,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6BqnWW5yYS
she sat beside Bruce’s bed,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYq98b0UdLW
his arm covered in blood.
Her hands trembled as they gripped his arm.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDwxg1u8Zs
She closed her eyes—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSjAgb0AVn
and with a voice barely louder than the grave,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDzeTx0pxG
she whispered again and again,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFtxsDdNYL
like casting a spell:
“Heal… quickly… please… recover…”
From a distance,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7X72iWzE2
Jason stood watching her.
And in his heart,11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUz69DaYNGa
something shifted.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡND00pUDhlv
