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