The air in front of Tim seemed to freeze for a second.
Jason stepped forward—once, twice—invading Dick’s personal space. His hands landed on Dick’s shoulders, a gesture that was both intimate and pressuring, like an interrogation without warning.
“Who was that girl?” Jason’s voice was low, but sharp as a blade. “What was her name?”
Dick blinked.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUbYoyTljS
Jason’s blue eyes were suddenly dark—so dark they felt like midnight, deep enough to swallow you whole. He stared, stunned, because this wasn’t the same little brother he remembered—the one who always acted indifferent, impatient, barely moving his mouth to speak.
This gaze... he hadn’t seen it in years.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOw2hIj9ple
Not since that incident.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4y8mDoi7r6
After it, Jason had locked himself down—expression flat, voice cold, emotions sanded down to numbness. But now, those eyes looked like glass scorched by flame, full of longing, suspicion—something ready to burst from its cocoon.
“Uh... as far as I remember, she was just a normal girl,” Dick said slowly. “She was crying. She begged me to save you.”
“More,” Jason said, locking eyes with him like a hound catching a scent.
“...More what?”
“More details.”
At that moment, Dick felt like some poor guy who’d accidentally caught the attention of someone’s girlfriend—and her current boyfriend was now standing right there, eyes full of emotional calculation.
He swallowed. Hard.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIH18srI7I
Trying to dredge the memory up from the back of his mind.
“She… she yelled ‘Robin’ from a pile of trash. I heard her and went over. Then she led me to your place, and I brought you to the hospital. Maybe… maybe she was your neighbor?”
Jason let him go.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPv2zNk3qVU
Then he started pacing—restless, like a wild animal trapped in a cage. The puzzle in his mind was suddenly missing pieces, and he had no idea where to find them.
Tim and Dick watched him quietly.
They didn’t speak, but their eyes were filled with tension and concern.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Jason spun around, grabbed a pen and a pad of sticky notes from the desk, and shoved them into Dick’s hands without hesitation.
“Draw her,” he said flatly. His fingers were trembling. “Draw that girl.”
“What? What?” Dick looked completely lost.
“Draw her face.”
“I—I can’t draw…”
Jason didn’t respond.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrpUfiq5QF
He just shoved more pens into Dick’s hand and slammed the paper down, smoothing it across the desk.
The overhead light cast overlapping shadows of the three of them across the table. Jason stood close, glaring. Tim stood back slightly, watching in rare silence—his eyes caught somewhere between confusion and curiosity.
Dick sat down, palms a little sweaty.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzI6qApk3Nv
He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, as if he were signing a massive legal contract, and started sketching—
A stick figure.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsyd8Gt99V
With eyes, a nose, and hair.
The lines were offensively simple. A circle for the head, two dots for eyes, a tiny curve for the nose, and jagged squiggles for hair.
The three of them stared at the page.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjbmst5f4t
The only sound was the soft hum of a fan.
“...” Tim frowned like he’d just read the wrong answer on a math test.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0oBG6J5Gx
“...” Jason looked mildly stunned, his hand still frozen mid-air.
Dick put the pen down, spread his hands. “I majored in business. Even at the station, we’ve got actual sketch artists.”
Jason stared at the stick figure drawing, eyes narrowing with an intensity bordering on obsession.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTw4oHjRyNz
He frowned, like he could force meaning from those pathetic lines.
“Come with me,” he said in a low voice that left no room for argument. “We’re going to Southside.”
Dick’s eyes widened. “What? Right now?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz5XnWl6Fm
He instinctively took a step back, eyeing his clearly spiraling little brother.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbH2cKUZfwJ
This wasn’t a casual stroll. This felt like being kidnapped into a fever dream.
Jason had already stepped forward, gripping Dick’s wrist—not harshly, but with enough resolve that it felt unbreakable.
“W-Wait, Little Wing—”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0uWYAIK7A
Dick leaned back, grabbing the desk for dear life, feet braced like gravity itself was dragging him away.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWpQf6W2wr
“Can we analyze first? My memory isn’t a superpower! Please, let’s calm down—”
Off to the side, Tim looked like he was having a system crash.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUIr2oCWbm
His eyes ping-ponged between the two of them with a mix of “Should I step in?” and “Do I need to call Bruce?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfYELmOQTO
He opened his mouth to intervene—but before he could, a calm and gentlemanly voice floated down from the staircase.
“Young masters, dinner is served. May I ask you to come upstairs and be seated?”
Alfred appeared at the door, his posture as elegant as ever, his tone leaving no room for refusal.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfm3VusYQIf
Behind him, Damian leaned against the doorframe, smirking like he was watching the world’s best soap opera.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmvO5Bzi31
Two girls stood beside the stairs—one raising an eyebrow, the other covering her mouth, clearly suppressing laughter.
And last—29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsb34mtAgpA
A low, heavy pressure settled over the room.
Batman stood behind them, arms crossed, brow furrowed, looking like he’d just returned from a criminal lair only to find his own home had turned into a reality TV show.
Dinner, as always, was silent, orderly, and restrained.
Except for Jason.
He spent the entire meal staring at Dick.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZLmXFTGnF
His gaze made Dick’s hand tremble as he cut his steak—he felt like he was the steak.
Tim sat nearby, so tense he might as well have been recording everyone’s heart rate.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JYhbxztYQ
Damian looked bored, but the smirk on his face screamed chaos connoisseur, occasionally sneaking glances at Jason’s “I’m gonna interrogate you after dessert” expression.
Finally, the moment dinner ended, Dick jumped up.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SoeSBHCnG
“Welp, I should get going—got a patrol—”
But Jason stood up too, just a hair quicker.
Then—
“You two. Stay.”
Bruce’s voice cut through the room—not loud, but commanding enough to freeze time.
Jason stopped mid-step.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLcFivKlVa
Dick flinched like a power line just hit him.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2ZWnRFB4a
Both turned slowly toward the Wayne family patriarch, standing at the center of the room.
“I need an explanation,” he said, eyes locked on both of them.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TIos6BDmf
The kind of look that said he’d been watching this mess unfold in full—and was now ready to pass judgment.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLdlTihWnz
