For the first time, Claire didn’t open the café.
No scent of coffee wafted from her window,83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnuRGsH9ay
No familiar whir from the bagel press.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnL9ejM4HxV
Instead, her hands—usually busy kneading dough by sunrise—were holding a marker,83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUnHu8bXUT
Drawing arrows across a whiteboard like she was about to teach a conspiracy seminar.
She hadn’t slept. Not a minute.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0BIVsu6kL
Because Batman had said:83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZtRENyqXP
“Don’t sleep.”
He’d said it calmly—too calmly.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWd5RuTUHr
But the words had made her scalp tighten.
“If you fall asleep, the loop resets.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuGPhdYGTN
What we need tonight is continuity. Not broken memories trapped in the same repeating day.”
“You said everything stays the same every time you wake up.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXUkqgbpJ4
Then that means anything that changes—happens while you're still awake.”
Claire had wanted to push back—“Why does it matter? You’ll forget everything anyway.”83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeL65L72qPP
But Batman shook his head, speaking slowly, deliberately:
“You need analysis.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1B0T0UbGz5
You need to practice recounting your data.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgtQAb4OZL
I’ll leave a way to contact me.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfBIA2PokX
But you can’t start from the beginning every time.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5Ycb1S5P8
You’ll need to find a way to tell the future-me everything—precisely—and what to do next.”
Claire had just… stared at him.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnUqvmFDlM
Because for the first time, someone wasn’t saying she was crazy.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwxyV2m3uv
He was listening.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9Bbg6jenK
He was thinking.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7uZG6K6Dl
He was—Batman.
And being a Gotham native, she felt this absurd, unexpected comfort rise up in her chest:
“At least it’s Batman.”83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkraD04VkYc
If anyone could break the loop, it’d be him.
So she got to work.
Dragged the giant whiteboard her aunt had for some reason left behind from the second floor to the third.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo5yBu62sY
It was the kind of thing you see in old cram schools—half cracked, fully inconvenient.
Nightwing offered to help.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtl6NdtUNkJ
They squeezed it up the stairs together, getting stuck at the landing for a moment.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15gi3sWBYc
He gave her a small glance and asked, voice quiet,83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoD2uckDJmW
“You holding up?”
Claire was not.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGFGkTWWzZ
Her arms were shaking.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcebxOG1LS
Her eyes were dry.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtOdlAue7F
She felt like she’d downed three energy drinks and was vibrating slightly off-axis.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6BuIbcGTPx
But she still smiled and replied:83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqs1ZFxNBT1
“I’m good.”
It was a lie for herself.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5Ahgf7eSU
To remember she still could smile. Still could move forward.
Back upstairs, she brewed three coffees and a milk.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYRaq0v6sP
Nightwing took his with a polite nod.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRNiiy3Q6W
Robin sniffed the milk, made a face, and set it down.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2eef6W5Ti
Batman didn’t touch his cup.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA3x0n740Z
He was already focused on the board.
“Let’s start. When did you first notice something was off?”
Claire stood in front of the board.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOfRefgS3s
The marker hovered just above its surface.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCzTQMflSI
That’s when she realized—83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB81b4vZNJB
Her so-called "clues" were embarrassingly few.
“Uh... at first, nothing big. Thought I was just misremembering stuff,”83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpiGZqUXXQ
“Then I noticed everything was the same. Every single thing. That’s when I started keeping track.”
She told them about the first time Robin knocked on the hotel window.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bUevmDgYv
About Nightwing showing up on her balcony like clockwork.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95UEsZ9dC2
About the cursed bagel swap—the chocolate replaced by plain.
(None of it felt funny anymore.)
Batman didn’t say a word.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdBNra0VQU
He stood, back straight, listening.
After each section, he reached for the marker and jotted a few lines on the board.
She didn’t know if he’d remember any of it.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpnLjhk5Oi
But right now—right this second—someone understood her loneliness.
Night fell.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uNCDZ7XQR
The coffee went cold.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1dSbtP2l9
The whiteboard filled up—timelines, branches, points of deviation.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmt5Yu3I8bH
Batman stared at it like it was a war map.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUFW8fDU6l
Brows drawn, jaw tense.
And Claire—83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplkr2uAPUd
For the first time in god-knows-how-many loops—83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICrVOYRLua
wasn’t alone.
She didn’t have to whisper to herself anymore.
83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMfcXSIWSP
Claire knew she wasn’t that smart.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppAjHqB6k2
No, really.
She stood in front of the giant whiteboard—originally used for notes like “Trash on Tuesday” or “Stop buying potatoes”—now filled to the edges with Batman’s handwriting.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyVTRb3DTw
Tactical terms.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfbhuLxVMP
Observation protocols.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZtf4PogZC
Hypothesis trees.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAvvgqWf8t
Arrow-filled logic webs about time loop mechanics.
Her brain was buzzing like someone turned on a high-frequency hum in her skull.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7Ym7JX2Um
She could read every word. But when put together, it felt like looking at someone else’s math homework—technically correct, completely unreadable.
Batman had even written her a memory guide.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cHS9TlikM
Bullet points.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXcaDBUudb
Key phrases.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoQQVYUIfF
Color-coded charts.
Didn’t matter.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPSzDHEXE2
Once she closed her eyes—gone.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8DjDATo4j
Just gone.
So she had to memorize.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKWRqjBAB9
Raw memorization.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJ7yPbt1TU
Claire slammed her pen down on the desk, fingers diving into her tangled hair.
“God, I hate memorizing.”
It was like elementary school all over again—facing a multiplication quiz while still stuck on “7 times 8 is... what again?”83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81OUt1r78k
Total academic despair.
She glared at the board and forced herself to read it out loud:
- Establish a consistent, simplified daily communication method83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡat85zXqeVq
- Design self-verification protocols83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvK8oQLoXv
- Identify the rupture point in the time loop83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9UvMmUtSQ
- Develop coping mechanisms for mental strain83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixL9Sp5rrf
- Test whether sleep is the trigger for resets83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzWQiWGX8t
83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNyVEpbGGL
And below those?83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuolqiy3EN
Bullet point hell.
Claire nearly burst into tears.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdhdUzrcft
Wasn’t this the kind of thing you hired Batman to do?83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ500MYuvu6G
She was a bagel-slinging café owner, not a goddamn temporal physicist.
Nightwing and Robin had left around dawn.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zGkcDwxBJ
She’d thought she’d feel relief.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPvohiuBRs
She didn’t.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8GqvuEdnq
She felt like a balloon blown up way past safe capacity.
And Batman? Still here.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLg68k7WkbK
Sitting at her tiny desk like he owned it.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivibPdlOfd
Folding her notes into crisp little squares like some kind of insomnia robot.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnDya2RcSJ
She was starting to believe he didn’t even need sleep.
She had briefly wondered if he’d vanish at sunrise like a vampire or some brooding mythic shadow.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6eZfrZHaa
Nope.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbA9AZV6HD
Still here.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjK2DDXyfjA
Drank her coffee.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyRoiFlQOW
Ate a croissant.
Batman eats food.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKX08uWXuFV
Claire noted this with bewildered internal sarcasm.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJpWBOFDy0
And, somehow… it made her feel a little more human.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIStDc20CJ
A little more grounded.
Then 2 p.m. hit.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFWceurYsK
And she just—couldn’t.
Her head throbbed like someone was banging pots inside it.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2vOisE2Ut
A rhythmic BONG—BONG—BONG of pure pain.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBICqJWOtqi
Her ears were ringing.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOE3bpAIfM
Her vision was starting to blur.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfmh6BrGky
She hadn’t slept in way too long.
Even Batman’s voice faded into background noise.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBUTnyfodo
She could hear words, but they drifted by like waterlogged scraps of paper.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFr408VdW8
No structure. No connection.
Her neck gave out first.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsv17jNdmc9
Then her whole body slumped—soft and useless like an overcooked noodle.
Then she heard it.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Y77eH7S0Y
A sigh.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3QmbmbsLS
Low.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1GFjmGR5i
Close.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6iPBAFaZS
The kind of sigh you make when you don’t want to do something… but know you have to.
Then she was being lifted.
That jolt of surprise cleared her vision just long enough to see a pair of blue eyes.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsn4OIfFI6b
So blue. So clear.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqo1gRs4PlZ
Like the first star that refuses to leave the morning sky.
Nightwing, she thought.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJVy2oeP8W
But she couldn’t speak.
From somewhere nearby, Batman’s voice drifted in—calm, slow, final:
“Claire. Remember what I told you.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXP0FCoQkJS
Protect yourself first. Then find the truth.”
Someone laid her down.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KKrHiDWS7
Pulled the blanket up.
The scent of sunlight-warmed fabric and stale coffee beans wrapped around her.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4SIzFw4Ob
Her bed was soft. So soft.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuJ8yYzeCK
And for the first time in what felt like forever—she realized how badly she needed sleep.
Her mind tried to process what she’d forgotten.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOCIkQ961B
Was there something she needed to say? Do?
Too late.
The dark caught her.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPCNmw6nPR
Held her.
Perfectly.
83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauioj2lIUd
Claire was awake. Again.
Same ceiling.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aI7TYxxj7
Same sheets.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UC2KvEOXp
Same sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwT5EBZ6d8u
Even the dust floating in the air looked copy-pasted from yesterday.
She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then took a long, deep breath.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9dB7PIDTx
No headache.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2K2xclETgW
No nausea.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxn75RL5QqO
Her whole body felt like someone had swapped it out for a new one. Even her stomach was fine.
Creepy.
Apparently, any sickness will vanish overnight—83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIXcgxGNLB
If you're stuck in a time loop.
Day Ten.
She got out of bed, rubbing her temple as she walked. Her thoughts were sluggish, and the words "Day Ten" rolled through her mind like a bowling ball in slow motion—silent but heavy.
She grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote "Day 10" on it with a thick black marker, placing it in the corner of her desk.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5SMin3R1F
It was her memory thread.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMtYKlLqNo
Her own little mark carved into an unremembering world.
Day Ten was the day Batman showed up.
Claire looked at the words for a moment, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Guess I’m kind of impressive, huh?"
If people in Gotham knew all it took to summon Batman was repeating the same day ten times, half the city would start dabbling in time magic.
She got dressed, went downstairs, and opened the café.
Today she cleaned the windows extra thoroughly.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzEy0iBqC2
Then she took out a pink sticky note and scribbled on it:83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiAc1u3Lxk
“Today’s Bagel: Plain.”
She stuck it on the glass, stepped back to check.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ABk07kOjw
It stood out.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncrAUtkHR8
Bright and silly. Hard to miss.
Then she frowned.
Wait—why am I even doing this?
No one else would remember.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqqD1hOiiV
Only she knew what day it was.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehT39YPfuH
Only she knew today’s bagel was different from yesterday’s.
But Batman had said it:
“You need a daily signal. Something visible. Something subconscious. Something verifiable.”
Maybe, just maybe…83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvx2hZXYBR
Someday, someone like her might see that note.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93aYIPTXPR
And feel something click.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPJj02qeal
Some resonance.
Claire snorted.
“No deadlines, infinite time. What a dream.”
Colder than her fridge.
What kind of absurd life was this?83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSZO2mM8OO
She felt like a corrupted file stuck in the wrong folder—just looping and glitching.
She glanced at the clock. 9:57.
Her eyes drifted to the door.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCpY80ycJU
Her body tensed, that silent alertness creeping in.
Blue-eyed cop.
Batman had asked about him over and over last night—83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZZpGRyY6e
What he wore.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTq38xV4jB
His tone of voice.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrr5qAey9dB
Which hand he used to take out his wallet.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrfL4hb61r
What angle he walked in from.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WapBWDBtF
How long he looked at the counter.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIL1FE6avU
The pitch of his thank-you.
“You see this man every day. That means he’s not random. He’s a variable. He’s meaningful.”
Claire stood behind the register, adjusting the screen angle while mentally replaying every word.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNQ97Txx1G
Meaningful. Variable. Breach point.
She wanted to snap back—
“Oh sure, easy for you to say. This isn’t an RPG. How the hell am I supposed to spot a glitch in reality?”
But she didn’t.
She just bit her lip, sorted the coin tray, zipped up the change pouch.
She was still wondering—
Was he Batman’s informant at the station?
She shook her head, started folding a dish towel in half, just as she placed it into the second drawer—
The Door Chimed.
Crisp. On time.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7dpAjnsh9
Like it was baked into the script of the day.
Claire’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3janO4ukc4
9:59.
The door pushed open.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuntF0DA8iR
A familiar pair of blue eyes swept into the room.
They always looked like they carried morning fog—clear, cool, and oddly pure for a city like Gotham.
“Hi, you’re Claire, right? Kyle said the bagels would be out late today. Sent me to pick up the order.”
He smiled—polite, just a touch tired.
Claire didn’t respond right away. She just stared at him.
Stared so long she started to feel like a creep, as if she were peeking at the core of some cosmic mystery that hadn’t realized it was a mystery yet.
Is it you?83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6o0sZ8b91
Or are you just another poor guy trying to buy breakfast?
God, she wanted him to be different.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaF7xrhapXV
Even five minutes late would’ve been something.
But nope.
Right on time.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrYWdLXds8
Said the exact same line.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0b94EDWhT
Paid with the same bills.
Claire considered doing a little test.
A spark lit in her head: Batman.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yL7ObMIEL
If this guy was an informant, that name would definitely spark some kind of reaction.
She narrowed her eyes, parted her lips—
Then shut them again.
Nope. Too much.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxVFNl0eE8
You don’t just ask a random cop, “Hey, do you know Batman?”83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHTmYPPlON
That’s how you end up with a referral to a psychiatrist by tomorrow.
Plan B.
She pointed to the pink note on the window.
“Did you see that?”
Blue Eyes blinked, glanced at the window, then nodded.
“Yeah, I saw it.”
But his face clearly read: “Okay… and?”
Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVaY1HoGZs
That one’s not working. Time to upgrade.
She grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a sentence, and slid it across the counter.
“Do you ever feel like the sun today won’t make it to tomorrow?”
She’d spent days refining that line in her head—poetic, haunting, a little tragic.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOvjqLkeqC
Surely it would hit something.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFibaGimx8
Maybe he’d respond: “How did you know?” or “I’ve been feeling the same.”
He read it.
Paused.
Then frowned.
“Uhh… if you ever need someone to talk to, I know a really good therapist.”
Claire, mentally: ……
Great.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV40pDxeS8C
Another morning, another conversation added to the Folder of Cringe.
She forced a smile.
“Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
He handed her the money, smiled again, and left.
The door shut.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvnoRlsEVx
The chime rang a second time.
Claire remained where she was, staring at the now-empty doorway.
A quiet line drifted through her mind:
Test Result: Inconclusive.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaKQmgxxeK
Day 10. Blue-Eyed Officer.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FKxToj6Gd
No noticeable deviations.
But hey—83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxU3hIm7Srz
At least she tried.83Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmEY9IfbyX
