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