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
