“So, Master Bruce… this is the child who stole two of your Batmobile tires?”
A voice—aged, clear,30Please respect copyright.PENANA3JKJqWhZLf
drifted from the shadows of the Batcave.30Please respect copyright.PENANAmatIv1JDek
It was impossible to tell whether it was surprised or amused.
Alfred stood there,30Please respect copyright.PENANA89Xuk0ItH5
holding a silver tray30Please respect copyright.PENANABfD6m2Nusg
with freshly brewed hot milks and two biscuits.30Please respect copyright.PENANAupZgxIWSBs
His eyes fell on the boy,30Please respect copyright.PENANAxu6UfW8oHr
who looked absolutely unrepentant—30Please respect copyright.PENANA8urB6WJS5O
in fact, slightly proud.
Batman frowned,30Please respect copyright.PENANAUmTWJO6Hsm
his brow creasing into shadow.30Please respect copyright.PENANA3Pxypzf9kj
“The first time he did it, I was so pissed,30Please respect copyright.PENANAElhGj19sdA
I circled the block twice before daring to come back to the car.”
That first time—30Please respect copyright.PENANAtmd4kKjeQH
he hadn’t even spoken.30Please respect copyright.PENANAmBRkHo8Qfp
Just grabbed the kids, one in each hand,30Please respect copyright.PENANAC5xDgCWL0H
and dropped them back near the church in the slums—30Please respect copyright.PENANAh9RigHOiU0
the safest place he could find.30Please respect copyright.PENANAbT19UXiLVP
He’d given them one warning:30Please respect copyright.PENANA6U9YONvLay
“Don’t come near the Batmobile again.”
Jason hadn’t cried.30Please respect copyright.PENANAziWHvMXJuo
He looked angry.
Nana had kept her head down,30Please respect copyright.PENANA1Zyvs9mXPT
but her hand had clung tightly to the back of Jason’s shirt.
They got no answers about Robin.30Please respect copyright.PENANA2c7h5b9nvx
Just that cold word “Go home,” left behind in the wind.
Three days later—30Please respect copyright.PENANAZzRtSpORNa
same place,30Please respect copyright.PENANAKCmEEZMJKE
same car.
This time,30Please respect copyright.PENANAFs0vI4Otav
four wheels gone.
“Master Bruce,” Alfred said dryly,30Please respect copyright.PENANAr0QCYgQWbS
“I sincerely believe that if this child turns to crime,30Please respect copyright.PENANA9hdQbIL1nS
we may never see your Batmobile’s tires again.”
“…Each of those wheels is taller than him.30Please respect copyright.PENANAwq0pqQqFS2
How did he even—”30Please respect copyright.PENANAlAVEyY2xqQ
Batman muttered,30Please respect copyright.PENANAjUHzNvPn4x
somewhere between shock and disbelief.
Alfred calmly added,30Please respect copyright.PENANA9LRjRHza51
“He also recalibrated the tire pressure.30Please respect copyright.PENANADxTUpRWLmL
Perfectly balanced.”
This time,30Please respect copyright.PENANAF7w6CK6af6
Batman was silent for a long moment,30Please respect copyright.PENANAeb61x0oFku
eyes on the two children.
Then he sighed.
He knew who they were.30Please respect copyright.PENANAHv2QG1Y3yq
After dropping them off that night,30Please respect copyright.PENANAcQdOVGnnXX
he’d looked into it.
Jason Todd—30Please respect copyright.PENANABK4MLDs3kx
no mother,30Please respect copyright.PENANA3aqHJihYNB
an alcoholic and violent father,30Please respect copyright.PENANAb0nhsqpmBn
currently missing.
Nana—30Please respect copyright.PENANALpvp69Wprs
from a crumbling orphanage,30Please respect copyright.PENANAFkPzlhnh4u
records say she’s mute,30Please respect copyright.PENANA5sARifY4Jw
but she’d never had a diagnosis,30Please respect copyright.PENANAMKQeQVF1SA
never any treatment.
He knew what happened to kids like them—30Please respect copyright.PENANAW9SllRHnlo
especially without guardians.
Some of them needed just a little time30Please respect copyright.PENANABVcKOhSi3s
to walk the wrong path.
The pair standing before him now?
Definitely a “buy one, get one free” type.
One moved,30Please respect copyright.PENANA27GJn9OS1J
the other followed.
Batman stood quietly for another few seconds.30Please respect copyright.PENANAq7fugdXjlk
Then turned and said:
“They’ll stay.30Please respect copyright.PENANARP2XOqde14
For now.30Please respect copyright.PENANAcMfQuzQwwD
Observation.”
Alfred gave a slight nod.30Please respect copyright.PENANAOg7VJzT0pa
Though he said nothing,30Please respect copyright.PENANArs1HOFCkup
his expression seemed to say:30Please respect copyright.PENANA0Vj1IyKvCd
I thought so.
The children stayed still.
Jason’s eyes were still wary—30Please respect copyright.PENANATshpamatuW
but also sparkled with something he couldn’t quite hide: excitement.
Nana stood quietly,30Please respect copyright.PENANA6A4wFOya1Y
her fingers nervously twisted behind her back,30Please respect copyright.PENANA4JsYxH2Npx
but her gaze never left the vast machines and glowing lights around them.
Batman looked at them.
If a kid could steal four tires off the Batmobile just because he was worried about Robin…
Maybe he deserved a chance.
Alfred placed the cookies and warm milk in front of the two children30Please respect copyright.PENANA1bqaB6zOX2
with the grace of someone serving nobility.
“You’ve both done well, children,” he said gently,30Please respect copyright.PENANAwCNdsH5HG7
his voice as composed as ever.30Please respect copyright.PENANAdebRNdkR6W
Then he added:30Please respect copyright.PENANA0tcJ4ww7t6
“As for young Master Robin…30Please respect copyright.PENANAtNBm8HJV85
he is currently engaged in a temporary,30Please respect copyright.PENANAmca0aXDASZ
emotionally-motivated… personal journey.”
Jason bit into a cookie,30Please respect copyright.PENANAMAggyhYMuE
frowning.30Please respect copyright.PENANAoAiTUNRdrT
“…What does that mean?”
Nana tilted her head in confusion,30Please respect copyright.PENANA4oCVGxMGbD
signing: “Left?”30Please respect copyright.PENANAsb73Fa5nAA
Then “Robin?”
Alfred smiled,30Please respect copyright.PENANAhoYmSCkvJt
his hand gracefully folded across his wrist in a formal gesture.30Please respect copyright.PENANALa1vvgNrQb
“He has, shall we say…30Please respect copyright.PENANApgJ7VtgUzc
run away from home.”
Both kids’ eyes went wide.
Then they looked at each other—30Please respect copyright.PENANAKakTnCdOPK
the same expression on their faces30Please respect copyright.PENANAAlbylWE4na
as if they’d just read that Gotham was going to have a week of sunshine.
Across the room,30Please respect copyright.PENANAJ1SUdWVjYK
Batman sat in front of the computer,30Please respect copyright.PENANAcQnMR06jM2
scrolling through city surveillance.30Please respect copyright.PENANABTB1eAUxK7
He gave a grumpy huff,30Please respect copyright.PENANAcBzk3e9bsx
his silhouette full of quiet annoyance.
Alfred, mildly reproachful:30Please respect copyright.PENANAZOK4FoU4vL
“Master Bruce,30Please respect copyright.PENANAAs5UKRNZCk
if you softened your tone just a little,30Please respect copyright.PENANARtxLYZPIWK
I do believe the young master would return immediately.”
Batman didn’t reply.30Please respect copyright.PENANA7TXg9qU2oo
His shoulders moved slightly,30Please respect copyright.PENANA2eFviNlbZr
like he couldn’t even be bothered to argue.
30Please respect copyright.PENANAt4PMXzBOwD
Luckily, it was summer break.30Please respect copyright.PENANAVYhDR4JklR
The kids didn’t need to go to school.30Please respect copyright.PENANADBzsxouSF0
They were temporarily housed in Wayne Manor.
When Jason and Nana stepped out of the Batcave30Please respect copyright.PENANA6mci9evgmY
and passed through the hidden passage to the upper floors,30Please respect copyright.PENANAUfMuTni7ga
they both froze.
It was a world they had never seen.
An endless arching hallway,30Please respect copyright.PENANAdtIcHY6urt
a chandelier hanging from the ceiling like a broken piece of starlight,30Please respect copyright.PENANAlZqxDlkVne
soft Persian rugs underfoot,30Please respect copyright.PENANAO4hNqFT7kC
air scented with cedar and sun-warmed fabric.
Nana instinctively grabbed the back of Jason’s shirt,30Please respect copyright.PENANAEF1vjgyvMk
as if afraid she’d dirty the floor just by being there.
“Welcome to Wayne Manor, children,”30Please respect copyright.PENANAqkW8Kt4ScH
Alfred said from behind them,30Please respect copyright.PENANAQ175a1fO2e
his expression gentle.
They were led upstairs separately.
The hallway was wide enough30Please respect copyright.PENANAqs8X8rf9bl
for three horses to race side by side.
Jason’s room had a private bathroom,30Please respect copyright.PENANAqyfWr1RLiD
a desk,30Please respect copyright.PENANAMR8xrVn08W
and a leather chair so grand30Please respect copyright.PENANAQCVQCCQyeg
he didn’t dare sit in it at first.
When Alfred led Nana to hers,30Please respect copyright.PENANAlY9bsj6U1y
he frowned slightly.
“Miss Nana, I must apologize.30Please respect copyright.PENANAyhCGe4k5s6
This room is currently not quite suited for a young lady.30Please respect copyright.PENANATXDAoKg1NT
We didn’t have time to prepare,30Please respect copyright.PENANAm3VgaBG6I5
but in the future,30Please respect copyright.PENANApcxuxMaWZM
I’ll see to a proper space just for you.”
Nana blushed,30Please respect copyright.PENANAE87op6FApv
waved her hands quickly,30Please respect copyright.PENANAEoOkYSe3S0
and signed: “This is already perfect.”
30Please respect copyright.PENANAlwLutBBPQM
That night,30Please respect copyright.PENANA8b2EpFpnLG
the hallway was quiet.
A small girl in new pajamas carefully turned her doorknob,30Please respect copyright.PENANALXDz0cVNvP
peeked out,30Please respect copyright.PENANAcOzjI8m0Ya
then tiptoed across the hall.
She knocked twice.
The door opened.
Jason—also in pajamas,30Please respect copyright.PENANAqsQn5700yr
his hair a mess—30Please respect copyright.PENANA354WVmVG0i
looked at her.
His eyes lit up.
They stared for a second,30Please respect copyright.PENANAf9EddB6bpl
hands beginning to move.
“Too big. Can’t sleep.”
“Me too.”
Jason reached out,30Please respect copyright.PENANARGC2eHEf9n
took her hand,30Please respect copyright.PENANA1CKjoBi3RB
and led her in.
30Please respect copyright.PENANAmiQNYijTor
Alfred stood in front of the monitor,30Please respect copyright.PENANA2oICpVSoUs
sipping his tea.30Please respect copyright.PENANAJqZjhKipHU
His eyes landed on the two small figures on the screen.
He smiled,30Please respect copyright.PENANA9YzO6mUgp5
his voice calm and unhurried:
“Master Bruce,30Please respect copyright.PENANAm1XxACW7rP
those two children…30Please respect copyright.PENANAfspoBRsw2e
they seem very close, don’t they?”
Batman said nothing.30Please respect copyright.PENANAhcHj2kaiyj
He stared at the monitor for a long time,30Please respect copyright.PENANAyIOchCo5Dp
silent.
Inside the room,30Please respect copyright.PENANAvVC8Ddzagu
the lights were off.30Please respect copyright.PENANAMjiWuBRSA0
Night draped itself over everything like soft silk.
Two children lay on the bed,30Please respect copyright.PENANA5bCRpULgay
heads resting together,30Please respect copyright.PENANAGbDlSHwvtq
hands moving in soft signs.
Today’s thoughts.30Please respect copyright.PENANAo3razoJpFY
The Batmobile.30Please respect copyright.PENANA3Pe0QtN8iG
Alfred’s milk—it smelled better than church milk.30Please respect copyright.PENANAvyDZ0jYfU4
And…30Please respect copyright.PENANATv51V8w8ic
the bed.30Please respect copyright.PENANA8FoJgHQw1L
It was way too soft.
Their hands slowly stopped.
Breathing slowed.
And soon,30Please respect copyright.PENANAgU7qy8d3uH
they both fell asleep quietly30Please respect copyright.PENANAv0QxcE62Vh
beneath Gotham’s night.
Day Three.30Please respect copyright.PENANAKMMF4VGn9p
Morning sunlight poured into the grand study of Wayne Manor. A soft carpet lay beneath the tall windows, and by the window stood an old wooden desk with two thick-cushioned chairs—just enough for two children to sit side by side.
Jason and Nana had come here early. Ever since they discovered this room, filled with what felt like the knowledge of the entire world, they had been excitedly darting through the shelves—leaping from stories of knights to dinosaur encyclopedias, flipping from plant guides to Sherlock Holmes, like two owls who’d just found a secret treasure trove.
Now they sat quietly by the window, each immersed in their own book.
Alfred had placed some black tea and cookies on the desk. The warmth filled the room. Sunlight fell across their profiles, and the children would occasionally point out fun sentences or pictures to one another before diving back into their pages. It was a rare moment of peace.
Alfred watched them with deep satisfaction and whispered to Bruce beside him, “Such a tranquil moment, sir. They’re both good children—I’ve always believed that children who love to read never turn out bad.”
Batman didn’t respond immediately. His gaze lifted from the reports in front of him and lingered on the two small silhouettes at the far end of the study.
There was hesitation in his eyes.30Please respect copyright.PENANAlHCcgiAxzw
He had seen too many villains who loved to read.
Just then, a door creaked open softly.
Footsteps entered, familiar yet out of sync with the calm rhythm of the mansion—full of youthful energy.
Alfred’s face lit up with a rare smile. He turned and said, “Master Dick, you’ve finally returned.”
“Of course, Alfred,” the voice was warm and light, straddling the line between a boy and a young man—like a spring breeze in the afternoon. “I missed you. And when I heard we had two new members at home, I had to rush back. Otherwise, Bruce would give them a hard time again.”
The two children in the study poked their heads out at the sound.
A tall teenager stood in the doorway, eyes gentle, a friendly smile on his lips. His gaze landed on them immediately—soft and calm—as he slowly walked over.
“These must be Jason and Nana, right? I’m Dick. Just call me Dick. Welcome—”30Please respect copyright.PENANAPgJuv9hlof
He paused, tilting his brows.30Please respect copyright.PENANAbBZTi4TqRh
“Wait a minute... Aren’t you the girl who was crying at the junkyard that night?”
Dick stepped a little closer, trying to recall the blurry scene from that late night. It was that voice, that desperate scream of “Robin” that had pulled him across the city.
Nana stared at him blankly, eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty.
That’s when Jason instinctively stepped forward, like a wall against the wind, subtly nudging the girl behind him.
Dick noticed the motion and let out a laugh.30Please respect copyright.PENANA4pRDBgp37P
“Oh right—I forgot to mention. I’m Robin. Nice to meet you.”
As he chuckled, he extended a hand to the girl.
Nana blinked, and her eyes suddenly sparkled.30Please respect copyright.PENANAziHm898rF5
She didn’t say a word, just reached out from behind Jason’s right shoulder and gently took Dick’s hand, her face glowing in a way Jason had never seen before.
Jason stood beside them, watching the historic handshake between one tall person and one small one, his expression unreadable.
He muttered internally.30Please respect copyright.PENANA48n4zcBuR7
And in his mind, he drew a giant red X over the title “Robin.”
On Dick’s third day back home, he began to get a sense of the daily rhythm shared by the new additions to the household.
He noticed that Nana barely spoke and communicated mostly through sign language. Jason would occasionally supplement with simple questions or emotions—but most of the time, he used sign too. Their coordination was so smooth it was like watching a well-rehearsed pair of dancers.
But something even funnier happened.
One morning, Dick, feeling eager, headed to the library and grabbed a copy of Beginner’s Guide to Sign Language. He decided to teach himself a bit and surprise Jason later by showing off.
He memorized all 26 letters and even practiced three times in front of the mirror.
But when he finally gathered the courage to talk to Nana, he stared in confusion at what she signed—it didn’t match the book at all!
Puzzled, Dick turned to Jason for answers.
Jason shrugged and replied matter-of-factly, “We made up our own system. It’s faster that way. Plus, we change it every two weeks so no one can crack it.”
Dick was stunned for a second—then burst into laughter.30Please respect copyright.PENANAmM5L44PZeI
“So basically... this is your version of kids’ secret code? What are you two now, an underground intel network?”
Their encrypted communication reminded him of Bruce’s face whenever he encountered unreadable ciphers.
“Well, you know...” Dick grinned and added playfully, “Batman hates codes he can’t break.”
ns216.73.216.251da2