Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNfJIB6lpO
These weren’t just flashy props—they were more precise, more grounded than anything she'd seen in a movie. Almost everything had a backup system or some kind of emergency override.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjA0ocsxHn7
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy19YOPVZ5a
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZln0o2gEJ
“If you need to reach us, hit this. But only during this window—”
“—before the reset kicks in,” Robin finished, matter-of-factly.
Batman added next. He handed Claire a slip of paper with a long string of numbers and symbols.
“This is the door code. You’ll need it to get in. No keys, no fingerprint ID, no voice recognition—none of that survives the loop. Memorize it.”
Then came weapons hour.
His voice dropped, colder. He picked up a gun and handed it to her, but didn’t let go immediately.
“Only use it to protect yourself. Never to strike first.”
His gaze cut through her—through muscle, bone, marrow.
“I know you’re not a bad person, Claire.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98nbcWwPiW
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2MqN93q6n
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKx9wt1bYgj
I’m a good citizen.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5osaare5ul
Really.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0xfxbnQED
I’ll aim it at the crack, and only at the crack.
They circled back to the crack.
Notes spread across the table. Claire had drawn a few sketches—long shapes, sky proportions from what she saw with her eyes closed.
“What if it’s not just appearing,” Nightwing said, “but actually… approaching?”
“Then the point of contact is her,” Batman replied, circling her name at the center of a page.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1M9Sq7Cb9x
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5qOZUggRY
Paper remembered. Claire had to remember too. Just in case paper didn’t make it through.
By the next noon, Claire was slumped over the table, hand still resting on a sheet labeled PLAN F.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdwCtAqKJD
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjzOd8z8xJ
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdIN4NOSzF
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXq9Xc3ysPv
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflZ5Md3klY
Firm, steady. Familiar.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICR1LCXK24
There was the faint scent of shampoo in the air—clean, comforting.
She squirmed, barely.
This isn’t my bed, she wanted to mumble.
But she had no strength. Her body gave in to the embrace, tucked beneath a blanket.
Right before slipping under again, only one thought remained:
Screw it. I’ll just come back tomorrow.
51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4UZ8ttvnO
Claire got used to it. For real.
She hadn’t expected to find rhythm in the repetition—not just survive, but start to live well-ish, like some glitch-proof war correspondent who recalibrates her memory each morning before heading back into chaos.
Every day started the same:51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rltgnqqF9
She woke up and wrote down the number of times she’d repeated the day.
She wasn’t sure if her count was accurate anymore, but at least it gave her something solid to check against.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcMm3Q0RI0
Something to prove she hadn’t snapped.
Then she opened the café.
The soft ding of the door chime gave her the daily illusion that the world was still spinning as usual. The hiss of the espresso machine kicked in. She counted the seconds.
Waited for the footsteps.
If Claire’s bagels weren’t available until 10 a.m.—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjpwXIGc6V
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjMf3NlLFk
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvYOlMEx1D
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYoDeoR22f
Or anything else that made her sound like she needed to be gently escorted into psychiatric care—
The informant at the counter would discreetly alert Nightwing.
That’s how she found out “I might be having a breakdown” was an actual trigger phrase to summon a superhero.
She sometimes wondered:51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcL84OVTdT
Who designed this whole failsafe system? Batman?
And sure enough, Nightwing would show up later that night.
Looking very much like he was “just passing by.”
Then he’d sit down. And start coaxing answers out of her.
But honestly?51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwDrsZa05L
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JEZVvT6QG
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JIdiBAV49
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESUDAVbvwj
Every time, he’d stare at her for a few seconds, calculating how much he should trust her today.
That expression—hesitant and tight—like she’d just told him the Earth was about to explode, and he had to smile back and go, “Cool. Let’s finish this coffee first.”
He had range.
Worry. Frustration. Doubt. Guilt.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡON9I9kyEex
Claire kept a mental chart: Nightwing’s Emotional Weather: Today’s Forecast.
In some twisted way, it felt like watching a drama series.
And she liked it.
Because in this endless loop, the only thing that really changed…51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aoNLoZ5KJ
Was the light in his eyes.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGc748fJWt5
