In Dick’s mind, only one sentence was now echoing in absolute chaos:
Robin is actually in Blüdhaven?! Why?!
He tried to stay calm, racking his brain for any reasonable explanation—34Please respect copyright.PENANAmTd2BAYFty
Was it a mission? Emergency backup?34Please respect copyright.PENANAVJQGawRs19
A covert operation arranged by Batman?34Please respect copyright.PENANA485DmwnnLV
But none of these scenarios had anything to do with… a casual dinner date.
Claire didn’t bother checking his expression,34Please respect copyright.PENANAT6TVWiIsF7
nor did she turn to confirm if he was still following along.34Please respect copyright.PENANAaNie9Dyjik
She simply raised her right hand, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger,34Please respect copyright.PENANAezkyAZZPKD
then brought it to her lips—
FWEEEEEEEET—!
A loud, piercing whistle cut through the quiet evening.34Please respect copyright.PENANAmuKppzP67a
Fortunately, there weren’t many people around.34Please respect copyright.PENANA9X4eHrnLgu
The few passersby only glanced over before quickly averting their eyes.34Please respect copyright.PENANAQP3VBu5DHm
This was Blüdhaven—minding your own business was the only way to survive.
But—Robin heard it.
He was just swinging across the rooftop on the opposite side of the street when the sound reached him.34Please respect copyright.PENANA0m3cftT7ue
He turned immediately.34Please respect copyright.PENANAtkpDNR7Qkl
From where the whistle came, he spotted a familiar silhouette standing next to a woman he didn’t recognize.
He didn’t hesitate.34Please respect copyright.PENANAKYhIam37dF
His grappling line shot out again.34Please respect copyright.PENANADMcPp4URlM
He twisted mid-air, soared across the gap, and landed with precision—34Please respect copyright.PENANAwLxqI1P0oO
as if he’d practiced that exact landing a hundred times.
And when he landed in front of Claire and Dick—34Please respect copyright.PENANAJ07BhaTFae
there was a pause.34Please respect copyright.PENANAI0Y9nD42sg
The three of them stood there, wrapped in a silence so heavy, it felt like someone had hit the pause button on reality.
Dick didn’t know what to say first.34Please respect copyright.PENANA4QeplzMw5L
Robin didn’t know what to say first either.34Please respect copyright.PENANATttdQ4TPvm
Claire simply stood there watching the two of them, curious to see if either would break the silence.
This wasn’t some random encounter.34Please respect copyright.PENANAIRoLXerZn5
This was Claire’s doing.34Please respect copyright.PENANADmBDjLcvAA
She wanted to see exactly what kind of relationship this “informant” had with the Bat family.34Please respect copyright.PENANA9wIisx8gAF
She needed a controlled experiment.
The three of them looked at one another—eye contact full of signals,34Please respect copyright.PENANAt5MXzewCzC
but still not a single word.
Dick’s gaze shifted first.34Please respect copyright.PENANAADw6wnIH56
He quickly flashed a look at Robin, trying to convey:34Please respect copyright.PENANAaxthqDOfpM
“Why the hell are you here?”
Then he immediately followed up with a second, more urgent expression:34Please respect copyright.PENANAuQmPy3mdpz
“I’m just plain ol’ Dick Grayson right now. Don’t blow my cover.”
Robin, on the other hand, eyed the pair with mild suspicion.34Please respect copyright.PENANAMZKADK8lt6
The girl was clearly dressed up.34Please respect copyright.PENANAoBA8qGQwzb
The guy looked relaxed but well put-together.34Please respect copyright.PENANAxiuTnPF8U7
They were walking together down the street—
Wait… is this a date?34Please respect copyright.PENANAr8fen1C4yE
Did I just interrupt a date?
But if it’s a date, why did the girl call him here?
Claire watched them continue their silent exchange,34Please respect copyright.PENANAi2fcwpcRQ3
and then shrugged—like she’d already seen through everything,34Please respect copyright.PENANA7ReDuyPk5m
and had no intention of letting this awkward silence drag on.
She stepped forward, her voice clear and calm, instantly snapping both men’s attention back to her.
“Do you two know each other?”
Both of them shook their heads at the same time.
Identical motions.34Please respect copyright.PENANAukXOdq278b
So fake it was almost insulting.
Claire raised an eyebrow, giving them a subtle “you expect me to believe that?” smile.34Please respect copyright.PENANATPjLuzaAi0
But her tone remained utterly composed:
“Is that so?”
Without waiting for their answer,34Please respect copyright.PENANAWE2VSkNWwI
she calmly lifted her hand and pointed to Dick:34Please respect copyright.PENANAwSKUZzAPzl
“This is Officer Dick Grayson.”
Then she pointed at Robin:34Please respect copyright.PENANADIjjMBgIiH
“This is Robin.”
Finally, she pointed at herself:34Please respect copyright.PENANATn5302HHxH
“I’m Claire.34Please respect copyright.PENANAOla7MTtn6b
Nice to meet you both.”
Her tone was pleasant, her smile faint,34Please respect copyright.PENANACuLbLe7dol
as if she were hosting the most polite and bizarre matchmaking event in Blüdhaven history.
34Please respect copyright.PENANAjyBtECCnlW
Three people—familiar yet unfamiliar—stood together on the streets of Blüdhaven.34Please respect copyright.PENANAN5qIt2GK69
A cold wind blew past, lifting the corner of a newspaper by a trash can, sending it fluttering briefly before it dropped back down in the dark.
Claire’s introductions had ended like a sterile handoff in a lab—cold, but undeniably effective.
After introducing herself, she promptly announced,34Please respect copyright.PENANAJDzB0pqeFk
“Alright, let’s go eat.”34Please respect copyright.PENANAlJsBrK1JlL
Then she turned around as if this gathering was nothing more than a dinner reservation she'd made in advance.
If Dick hadn’t been here—Robin swore—he definitely would’ve declined.34Please respect copyright.PENANAX5y3XlMaSl
Seriously.
Even if this woman was suspicious,34Please respect copyright.PENANACSyTxxFvxo
even if she somehow knew his name,34Please respect copyright.PENANAWa0JBFMpG2
he could’ve come up with a hundred reasons to walk away.
But the problem was—he had too many questions.34Please respect copyright.PENANA3SKm8GC6DA
And the source of those questions was standing right in front of him.34Please respect copyright.PENANAUfktLqdD1p
His name: Dick Grayson.34Please respect copyright.PENANAkd8Udc5D0e
Current status: “normal police officer,”34Please respect copyright.PENANAuNXC40sQbY
currently on a date with this mysterious woman.
Now he had to pretend not to know Dick…34Please respect copyright.PENANAejYfmlzZG4
and join Dick’s date.
What the hell kind of scenario is this?
He glanced sideways at Dick, his expression crystal clear:34Please respect copyright.PENANApV3NcR0Wsn
“Bro. What are you doing?”
Dick was already looking at him—his face pale as chalk.34Please respect copyright.PENANAroihAHQXqV
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Walking beside Claire, Dick had completely lost his grasp on logic.34Please respect copyright.PENANAMuqWO9X0PV
His brain felt like it had been stuffed with bagels—twelve of them—34Please respect copyright.PENANAIMi77bt8SO
jammed in all at once, and not a single one swallowed.34Please respect copyright.PENANA4DJ2t5xoHu
Too many questions, too many contradictions, too many puzzle pieces with no edges.
And now he had to pretend he didn’t know Robin.34Please respect copyright.PENANAuDOmmFOFag
And the three of them were going to dinner.34Please respect copyright.PENANAFAg4KnXsBn
Together.
What kind of bizarre combination is this?
If Batman found out, he might just blow up the kitchen in the Batcave.34Please respect copyright.PENANAWoQGtYPZdy
Was this a leak in their intel network… or some kind of multiverse misalignment?
So—did Robin know Claire?34Please respect copyright.PENANAhegAWnvfg2
The thought suddenly popped into Dick’s head.
He deliberately let his arm fall to his side, slowed his pace slightly to trail behind a step,34Please respect copyright.PENANAFcyoXdxoD3
then subtly pointed a finger at Claire, silently asking,34Please respect copyright.PENANAbKVqHcJemk
“Do you know her?”
Robin shook his head.34Please respect copyright.PENANArWeeuXdOqQ
Clean, crisp, and absolute.
Dick let out a small breath of relief.
Great. He doesn’t know her.
Which meant—now the questions became:34Please respect copyright.PENANAuOeEfqyF4H
How did she contact Robin?34Please respect copyright.PENANAvxhB7BlwlR
Why did she invite him to dinner?34Please respect copyright.PENANAFTe6eRgvx3
And why drag Dick into it too?
Even more absurd—34Please respect copyright.PENANAwVo9kmPon4
two out of the three people here knew each other,34Please respect copyright.PENANAuCN0eNyVKw
but had to pretend they didn’t,34Please respect copyright.PENANApyQQkvsEs0
all while being herded together by the third person…34Please respect copyright.PENANA7Imx4Ys0D6
for dinner.
The two brothers silently watched the woman walking steadily ahead of them—Claire.
One thought passed between them:34Please respect copyright.PENANAOxhsOLV6lO
This dinner... there are going to be questions.
34Please respect copyright.PENANAEWlvkwWqaA