Two Months Later, at Night
The girl sat at the edge of the bed.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0JkZhyacp
Only a small lamp was on in the room, casting a soft, warm light.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9iNLNsojh
She held the boy’s hand, gently applying ointment to his sore muscles,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHo1gMHLUkh
careful to avoid the bandage wrapped around his palm.
Jason didn’t speak.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtkWAqRBwn
He lowered his head, letting her tend to him.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxvw4rEEjJ
But his eyes kept sneaking glances at her face.
That face, usually framed with a quiet smile,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0BF89pHTS
was now furrowed with worry—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwnPvdB3QL
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,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrpFZcLGXo
Jason knocked on the heavy, solemn door of the Batcave—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSqmOL251p
for the first time, on his own.
He stood before Bruce and said,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttaaahNhhN
voice steady and sincere:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKNl4gncY2
“I want to train. I want to be stronger. I want to… protect her.”
Batman didn’t respond right away.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJsirr2L5c
He just stared at the boy in silence for a long time.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwD6DWqhxz
Then, finally—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoApRdNrvj
he nodded.
From that day forward,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQc68u2SSCz
Jason began his training.
Real training.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIodnJOLly
Not games.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcGZvqoRyt
Not gym class.
Batman’s standard—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EYkQ77Lrz
harsher even than what he gave to Robin.
Jason collapsed into bed every night,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8NDhZC6fJ
waking up sore and bruised.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXzQDiVumj
His hands grew calloused,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWrZchNYOo
his steps grew heavy.
But when he heard Nana’s voice at night,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1Qu0TbW4A
softly calling his name,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CUfcCvJ3F
while she gently rubbed ointment on his arms and said,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLDUI7ZKDP
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
He smiled—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFdY3Cm4tJ
the kind that bloomed from deep inside the chest.
For pain like this,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5WFkY4HMV
it was worth it.
Inside the Batcave
Dick flipped through the pages of Nana’s test results.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipeJthKyji
Each page deepened the crease between his brows.
He murmured under his breath:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0rC4Iipjd
“This kid’s power… it’s no joke.”
So far, Batman had categorized her abilities into two main types:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMcY5tsVw8
Command and Healing.
And “Command” branched further—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2ir9A6s7V
into Action and Object subtypes.
Even in the earliest tests,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GX0mBuvd1
those two alone had stunned the whole team.
The first time she was tested,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5ocvcioPH
Nana spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhTO2MKIen
“Stand up.”
The next second—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IcBazpMNr
everyone in the room—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswmGK74QTf
Dick, Alfred, Jason, even Batman himself—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2s2F82o56
stood up.
Not out of comprehension,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7OpJiQZTu
but reaction.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk2fUiqUZ8
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:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaa73DNI3a8
“Give me the Bat symbol.”
Batman didn’t move.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LF4iXONGU
But the emblem on his suit vanished—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZqMpSJ27u
and with a soft clink, fell to the floor at Nana’s feet.
The room fell dead silent.
Batman immediately began further testing—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpJ5pVNKyM
on range, volume, and correlation with her throat pain index.
Then it happened—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHZEZJrqyG
the one test Dick personally stopped.
That day, Bruce calmly instructed:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ52d5pP5Nt
“Say something that would make the mouse’s eyes appear in front of you.”
Nana froze.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjlPeD5XGU
Her whole body trembled.
She slowly turned toward the white lab mouse on the table.
Her lips trembled.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwniK6YJTgB
Her voice was a breeze through dry leaves:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEddAiWIbf
“…Eyes… come…”
In the next instant—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMYFFBPTqf
two small, blood-threaded eyeballs dropped to the floor.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOh41bPqIpM
The mouse twitched twice, then lay still.
Nana clutched her throat,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclZO86w9V4
eyes shut tight, tears streaming down.
Dick rushed forward, grabbing her by the shoulders:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgC7MccBuz
“Nana, that’s enough. Stop. Don’t say another word.”
Then he turned toward the eyes on the ground,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT9WDSDFqx
his gaze sharp as ice.
He clenched his fists.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8AkdGZUTYl
A dark weight churned in his chest.
This wasn’t just a girl with a strange ability.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcSsTkC2ML
This…33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7VdgQKUCS
this could unbalance the entire city.
There was also healing.
That same voice—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZWeiQ9EfK
which could command, demand, and destroy—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69X7HHoDaC
also possessed the power to restore.
It became the only reassuring factor33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscLO4eZ36Y
amid her terrifying potential.
One year later,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIkn98frAO
Wayne Manor had quietly changed in many ways.
Bruce, with his meticulous—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTOcaqXmdA
some would say obsessive—testing,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhdTyHiVDu
had established a vital rule:
“No command sentences.”
Batman instructed Nana firmly:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4vq7R1Arj
stick to objective statements and questions.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhAAu1AflJ
Commands—even as simple as “sit down” or “pick up the gun”—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK7R12XWKLr
could lead to irreversible consequences.
Nana accepted this.
She began learning how to speak.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJfXSa26pu
Slowly.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XDATlELAX
Her voice was hoarse—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtF2UUCHbk
but it was hers.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BhSkD7rNd
Chosen by her own will.
And in all her spoken words,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIuahtJSPD
the one name she said most often33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kiK6xHlDu
remained the same:
“Jason.”
One night,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9hMaQWvOQ
Alfred woke her from a deep sleep.
Before she could fully react,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNt8y6A2VZM
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,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIr00tAyRe1
following him down to the Batcave.
That night,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1zOSr3zfA
she sat beside Bruce’s bed,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTW6MvwLQ0G
his arm covered in blood.
Her hands trembled as they gripped his arm.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMn7KCjpOmu
She closed her eyes—33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0ymbiNaYz
and with a voice barely louder than the grave,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eoxCTP7SH
she whispered again and again,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHzdPXYIQ1
like casting a spell:
“Heal… quickly… please… recover…”
From a distance,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2mmoP059a
Jason stood watching her.
And in his heart,33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCToOk9aGNq
something shifted.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDRuCjxqDp
