Claire froze.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5DISFtSKt
A chill ran down her spine, as if someone had quietly pushed her into a pool of ice water. Her shoulders tensed. Her fingers trembled, just slightly.
“The rift is watching her.”
That sentence stabbed into her mind like a pin.
Not she was looking at it, but that… thing—whatever it was—was staring back.
Her stomach twisted.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgVszTme2X
The warmth of the soup she’d just had in the kitchen surged back up, stopped at her throat like it had second thoughts.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHKxmcjMSz
The warmth was gone.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagTywnP0Ck
All that remained was an indescribable cold.
She had suspected it for a while now—that the rift didn’t just “appear” to her.
It let her see it.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8nJs8TXib
Like something pointing her out from a crowd and saying, you—look this way.
She swallowed, trying to stay calm.
But what caught her off guard… was that none of the three men denied what she said.
No one laughed.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGjQ5AlWvE
No one exchanged that “okay, she’s crazy” look.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUxNeTvxYS
No one told her to calm down.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeWkOLymej
No one gave her the “we’re just humoring you” smile.
There was no ridicule.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPILZoFjPsk
No patronizing sympathy.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvYbB8HHNR
Not even a subject change.
Instead—Batman looked like someone who had just found a missing puzzle piece.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsdWNP1NvM
His eyes stayed fixed on the rift she’d drawn, brows furrowed deep—like a question that had haunted him for a long time was finally starting to make sense.
Nightwing sat beside her, a hand resting on one knee, his body slightly leaning forward.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jkd0ERDFg
He looked like he was holding himself back—not from disbelief, but from the urge to tell her, “This can’t be real,” just to keep her sane. But he didn’t say it.
His posture said enough:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrxTuUy9nF
Suspicion.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6f1cB8LJSG
Anxiety.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdOCBd9lf5
But more than anything—alertness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQr32DvjZGM
Not toward her, but toward the possibility of something too dangerous to name.
Robin, meanwhile, had a hand to his chin, brows furrowed so tightly they looked carved in stone. He seemed stuck—trying to reconstruct something in his mind. Like some incomplete signal had lodged itself there, and he couldn’t decode it.
“If the rift is watching her,” Robin finally said, “does that mean it’ll come looking for her?”
The words dropped heavy.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7jQdU4yMg
Even the wind seemed to hesitate.
It wasn’t a theory.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfG2uHos2vy
It was a warning.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUIBC97MP0
We can’t let her face this alone.
Claire said nothing.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNha2ccCmm
She wasn’t sure she could.
Her lips felt sealed shut.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PlIGekJL4
Her throat was full of ice.
Then it hit her.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mdmG6mOqR
That in front of these people—saying there was a rift in the sky wasn’t delusion.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxxlGOa8fR
It was… the start of an investigation.
This wasn’t a hallucination.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu11Dz2piN2
It was a threat assessment.
And that terrified her more.
Because if they were taking it seriously—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOl3hA9jaX
It meant the thing she saw might really exist.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKiRXrp6Jl
Not just in her head.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7x6YW6ytgf
But somewhere, out there.
Batman looked up, his gaze heavy as iron.
“Claire,” he said, his voice firm and final,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3r5vIpGC3L
“I’m taking you to the safe house.”
There was no room for discussion.
“You’ll need something to protect yourself.”
Not maybe.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDBrWvF401
Not if.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyXogNQnXL
But definitely.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NWKbO9bfI
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqUrw1EHOL
You know—underground vault, biometric scans, a hidden elevator behind a sliding bookshelf. That kind of thing.
Because come on. It’s Batman. A little drama wouldn’t hurt.
But no. It was a regular apartment.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0I9DdO6oSS
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzq28WDU6Mr
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiczVF7KU1
Claire frowned and followed the three men inside.
When all four of them squeezed into what looked like a barely furnished studio, her first reaction was:
“Wow. Depressing.”
White walls. Wooden floor. Two chairs, one table.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LApsBkMWc
No couch.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxUXMk9VJr
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpt4dUhD62C
This was a rental someone never bothered to decorate because they knew the rent was highway robbery.
Before she could finish the mental roast, Batman walked to the wall, reached for a light fixture—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxonUtA84s
Click.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrTrOx7NK1
A hidden door slid open, revealing a short staircase going down.
No dramatic music. No warning. Just—there.
Claire instinctively took a step back. Her heartbeat skipped.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3tN14NRI8
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLQFH6D1zu
She was last. Eyes darting left and right like she’d stepped into sacred ground.
Then her foot touched the first step, and the world opened up.
Her eyes widened.
It wasn’t a damp basement.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHVNk2vKmF
It was an underground command center.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9atbNDelp
High ceiling. Cold air. Monitors everywhere, blinking with graphs, maps, and strings of data that looked like alien stock reports.
Weapons lined the walls—some shaped like bat wings, others like mechanical scorpion tails.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcwyAMvjxq
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFe4lfuAuK
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7h26XtPENk
“Definitely funded. Like, no-one’s-asking-for-receipts funded.”
One phrase popped into her mind—weaponized wealth.
Where did vigilantes get their money?
She used to think they were all about justice and grit, powered by passion and determination.
Now it felt more like… WayneTech’s unauthorized tech demo.
She muttered under her breath,
“So Bruce Wayne really is the sponsor. That tracks…”
She didn’t finish the thought.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqe2uiK5X5E
Didn’t need to.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaomXOPVQJm
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgM3Rdfman
her college years, back when she was on a full scholarship from the Wayne Foundation.
Every semester, like clockwork, a generous sum landed in her account.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQM5Oshz4tL
Big enough that her friends from other departments would whisper things like, “Are you in some kind of secret athletic program?”
All she had to do was run.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWSLC9HUZR
Win.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTJgpDpr2E
Over and over.
Until that one race—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8ieRGdf7D
The one her knee didn’t survive.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQynXjvsO2Y
She never crossed the finish line.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQ2dBMs7AP
But that race ended more than just the competition.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD7OdsFa0u
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4zHkdJRTM
Wind slicing past her ears.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIgQjl1lWY
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMHQd8hn9U
The weightlessness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsalKm7Ifzc
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaxtbUVpr9
A ghost of someone she used to be.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbwhiohj6m
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGeGJucLjQ
You know—underground vault, biometric scans, a hidden elevator behind a sliding bookshelf. That kind of thing.
Because come on. It’s Batman. A little drama wouldn’t hurt.
But no. It was a regular apartment.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWy2Mrd2zJ
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoF6NL1W0mW
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdJWJugGtj
Claire frowned and followed the three men inside.
When all four of them squeezed into what looked like a barely furnished studio, her first reaction was:
“Wow. Depressing.”
White walls. Wooden floor. Two chairs, one table.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXBtknkhmF
No couch.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOK8XlRurb
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxVHIYxRuJ
This was a rental someone never bothered to decorate because they knew the rent was highway robbery.
Before she could finish the mental roast, Batman walked to the wall, reached for a light fixture—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX5JwFroGX
Click.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAExSt0YTE
A hidden door slid open, revealing a short staircase going down.
No dramatic music. No warning. Just—there.
Claire instinctively took a step back. Her heartbeat skipped.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFNSPIYiE1
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtByWjDrgi
She was last. Eyes darting left and right like she’d stepped into sacred ground.
Then her foot touched the first step, and the world opened up.
Her eyes widened.
It wasn’t a damp basement.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0sF8fR7n7
It was an underground command center.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJ3Vzbo4xR
High ceiling. Cold air. Monitors everywhere, blinking with graphs, maps, and strings of data that looked like alien stock reports.
Weapons lined the walls—some shaped like bat wings, others like mechanical scorpion tails.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIeluQdheH
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7cdoYawiU
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WPYc3TCLu
“Definitely funded. Like, no-one’s-asking-for-receipts funded.”
One phrase popped into her mind—weaponized wealth.
Where did vigilantes get their money?
She used to think they were all about justice and grit, powered by passion and determination.
Now it felt more like… WayneTech’s unauthorized tech demo.
She muttered under her breath,
“So Bruce Wayne really is the sponsor. That tracks…”
She didn’t finish the thought.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gSOqaAhdo
Didn’t need to.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEMQF9HoL2
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl1dwZShis
her college years, back when she was on a full scholarship from the Wayne Foundation.
Every semester, like clockwork, a generous sum landed in her account.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nLoGCzvhR
Big enough that her friends from other departments would whisper things like, “Are you in some kind of secret athletic program?”
All she had to do was run.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0hIn8d8Qh
Win.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLxnsjkdIT
Over and over.
Until that one race—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3YJwFvrLn
The one her knee didn’t survive.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2FYrpf4On
She never crossed the finish line.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64fWSZXF3I
But that race ended more than just the competition.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVmG2GiquG
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oTE7ct6DH
Wind slicing past her ears.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2BJPaMNH5
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwp9xGDwBQ
The weightlessness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgcfY8CqDH
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUY2gaWlyQ
A ghost of someone she used to be.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1Ec0I7Fnh
Batman sat down at the console, his long cape fanning out over the back of the chair.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAC9h1uuJk
His fingers moved fast—sharp, precise, mechanical. One by one, the monitors lit up, as if some dormant beast had just awakened, stretching its limbs with a low digital growl.
Claire lagged a few steps behind.
She stood there, eyes scanning the room.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnn5n5HjHUU
Was this really not some kind of secret weapons cache?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxi5bIxkGM
Because honestly, it was giving serious classified-military-facility energy.
Metal-panel walls. Harsh fluorescent lighting. Devices whose functions she couldn’t begin to guess.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbwXpVKTRj
There was even something that looked suspiciously like an operating table—which she immediately looked away from, because nope. No thanks. No curiosity here.
She was just about to poke at a black storage case labeled with a large “F”, when a voice—British, older, calm but gently concerned—spoke from the monitor.
“Sir, have you located Robin?”
Claire’s head snapped up.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC5UpCrEuk
On screen was a sharply dressed older man in a suit that looked like it belonged in a vintage London magazine. A row of gleaming silver teapots lined the shelves behind him.
His eyes swept the screen—then paused.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdTWw57BSy
He blinked slightly as he spotted her standing in the corner.
“Sir… and this is?”
Batman didn’t look up. Still typing, still focused.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnflMrK8I0M
But he answered steadily.
“This is Claire.”
Then, finally, he turned his head.
“Claire, explain yourself.”
Claire blinked.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXwHUVu0Ci
Here we go again.
Was he training her public speaking, or just too lazy to do the intro?
She inhaled, dug her nails into her palm, and willed herself into composure.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZkcJOYIO5
She’d already told this story twice—once to Nightwing and Robin, then again to Batman himself. But the third time? Still sucked.
She cleared her throat.
“I’m Claire. I’ve been… stuck repeating the same day.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4FygU5Wwf
And tonight, I saw something in the sky.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcDnXmuUFv
Like a crack. A rip.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxY0qiDLgq6
Only I can see it. No one else can. But I know it’s there.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdSb1TTRec
Because I can still see it even when I close my eyes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClsROg9v2B
It’s not a hallucination.”
Her voice was steady—maybe a bit too fast—but it held.
The man on the screen didn’t flinch. Didn’t smirk. Didn’t doubt.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYnuoE0EWH
He simply gave a small, understanding nod.
Claire blinked again.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0D4MFg9y9u
She realized she’d been bracing for something—skepticism, sarcasm, at least a raised eyebrow.
But nothing came.
Silence settled around her.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRa2flKzuGw
Just the soft mechanical hum of the monitors at the edge of the room.
Well.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRknkmU35fw
That was the third time.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7NJCHVhl3
Story delivered.
Can someone get me a glass of water now?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSlRHC6o0m
