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—35Please respect copyright.PENANAlLYhgthR7M
Was it a mission? Emergency backup?35Please respect copyright.PENANAm1fMeDG3ZV
A covert operation arranged by Batman?35Please respect copyright.PENANAeAEUvrpLWB
But none of these scenarios had anything to do with… a casual dinner date.
Claire didn’t bother checking his expression,35Please respect copyright.PENANAdxMcmNLTEO
nor did she turn to confirm if he was still following along.35Please respect copyright.PENANAXhivNVCqWQ
She simply raised her right hand, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger,35Please respect copyright.PENANAT04FHcMDy7
then brought it to her lips—
FWEEEEEEEET—!
A loud, piercing whistle cut through the quiet evening.35Please respect copyright.PENANAECTSaXMoGe
Fortunately, there weren’t many people around.35Please respect copyright.PENANAuQADeHSN3h
The few passersby only glanced over before quickly averting their eyes.35Please respect copyright.PENANAZyLdcAoF8J
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.35Please respect copyright.PENANAr4owSOsNc8
He turned immediately.35Please respect copyright.PENANALUMnegCk6X
From where the whistle came, he spotted a familiar silhouette standing next to a woman he didn’t recognize.
He didn’t hesitate.35Please respect copyright.PENANAunJVhwZOeB
His grappling line shot out again.35Please respect copyright.PENANABKfJfPXSGg
He twisted mid-air, soared across the gap, and landed with precision—35Please respect copyright.PENANAImkfgS2MC4
as if he’d practiced that exact landing a hundred times.
And when he landed in front of Claire and Dick—35Please respect copyright.PENANAJgBb1gJCJi
there was a pause.35Please respect copyright.PENANAzZ5sVsOWNO
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.35Please respect copyright.PENANA73hAaq6ovg
Robin didn’t know what to say first either.35Please respect copyright.PENANAKbdwYJkNe2
Claire simply stood there watching the two of them, curious to see if either would break the silence.
This wasn’t some random encounter.35Please respect copyright.PENANAjCfJIkVqN6
This was Claire’s doing.35Please respect copyright.PENANA8rFp5D8sYR
She wanted to see exactly what kind of relationship this “informant” had with the Bat family.35Please respect copyright.PENANAftiklaUSy9
She needed a controlled experiment.
The three of them looked at one another—eye contact full of signals,35Please respect copyright.PENANAS3tHL9Xdhb
but still not a single word.
Dick’s gaze shifted first.35Please respect copyright.PENANAJVFu0cptPy
He quickly flashed a look at Robin, trying to convey:35Please respect copyright.PENANA1HUmFirykh
“Why the hell are you here?”
Then he immediately followed up with a second, more urgent expression:35Please respect copyright.PENANAK0riqZWyK1
“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.35Please respect copyright.PENANAyR0HemqClA
The girl was clearly dressed up.35Please respect copyright.PENANAjWkgoIA5o3
The guy looked relaxed but well put-together.35Please respect copyright.PENANAULdbB12zGh
They were walking together down the street—
Wait… is this a date?35Please respect copyright.PENANA8B9ZLhsGpd
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,35Please respect copyright.PENANAdeyRx5h4RE
and then shrugged—like she’d already seen through everything,35Please respect copyright.PENANAdpoeZbXw7t
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.35Please respect copyright.PENANAgzmtZmAiTM
So fake it was almost insulting.
Claire raised an eyebrow, giving them a subtle “you expect me to believe that?” smile.35Please respect copyright.PENANAeDrcOViNXQ
But her tone remained utterly composed:
“Is that so?”
Without waiting for their answer,35Please respect copyright.PENANAag05dilXdF
she calmly lifted her hand and pointed to Dick:35Please respect copyright.PENANAQWhNqjOgv1
“This is Officer Dick Grayson.”
Then she pointed at Robin:35Please respect copyright.PENANAZGeNRhd5gE
“This is Robin.”
Finally, she pointed at herself:35Please respect copyright.PENANAEk49fVelK2
“I’m Claire.35Please respect copyright.PENANAnrSnJfJ9H3
Nice to meet you both.”
Her tone was pleasant, her smile faint,35Please respect copyright.PENANAQJIwpoWiSO
as if she were hosting the most polite and bizarre matchmaking event in Blüdhaven history.
35Please respect copyright.PENANA6rHtMdVkod
Three people—familiar yet unfamiliar—stood together on the streets of Blüdhaven.35Please respect copyright.PENANAs7m3fFL6YE
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,35Please respect copyright.PENANAb4nRN1IOJm
“Alright, let’s go eat.”35Please respect copyright.PENANAAwIRMBCi5J
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.35Please respect copyright.PENANAqtNinVtdgN
Seriously.
Even if this woman was suspicious,35Please respect copyright.PENANAZilCctJ01K
even if she somehow knew his name,35Please respect copyright.PENANApJzCMxUHJe
he could’ve come up with a hundred reasons to walk away.
But the problem was—he had too many questions.35Please respect copyright.PENANAHNw9AV6er4
And the source of those questions was standing right in front of him.35Please respect copyright.PENANAaedlRAiRef
His name: Dick Grayson.35Please respect copyright.PENANA9kLrh1aSTD
Current status: “normal police officer,”35Please respect copyright.PENANApTgSyqSXlw
currently on a date with this mysterious woman.
Now he had to pretend not to know Dick…35Please respect copyright.PENANAktJQVXjKuQ
and join Dick’s date.
What the hell kind of scenario is this?
He glanced sideways at Dick, his expression crystal clear:35Please respect copyright.PENANAsMpBmwLMqU
“Bro. What are you doing?”
Dick was already looking at him—his face pale as chalk.35Please respect copyright.PENANAIxQ9S3E5nC
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Walking beside Claire, Dick had completely lost his grasp on logic.35Please respect copyright.PENANAxVwT55XcOG
His brain felt like it had been stuffed with bagels—twelve of them—35Please respect copyright.PENANAl21KgW9T8U
jammed in all at once, and not a single one swallowed.35Please respect copyright.PENANAcMjjlXaaoj
Too many questions, too many contradictions, too many puzzle pieces with no edges.
And now he had to pretend he didn’t know Robin.35Please respect copyright.PENANAUT0k1Sjf6g
And the three of them were going to dinner.35Please respect copyright.PENANAxDUMHs9LCQ
Together.
What kind of bizarre combination is this?
If Batman found out, he might just blow up the kitchen in the Batcave.35Please respect copyright.PENANAVV4vLQJRNs
Was this a leak in their intel network… or some kind of multiverse misalignment?
So—did Robin know Claire?35Please respect copyright.PENANADPMbhTz2nC
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,35Please respect copyright.PENANAWAdsIikx23
then subtly pointed a finger at Claire, silently asking,35Please respect copyright.PENANAjzOVGvi6Yt
“Do you know her?”
Robin shook his head.35Please respect copyright.PENANAl9fkh0ogJO
Clean, crisp, and absolute.
Dick let out a small breath of relief.
Great. He doesn’t know her.
Which meant—now the questions became:35Please respect copyright.PENANAo94ClyRpuY
How did she contact Robin?35Please respect copyright.PENANAOAi3ra8SU4
Why did she invite him to dinner?35Please respect copyright.PENANAXWZPLBSN36
And why drag Dick into it too?
Even more absurd—35Please respect copyright.PENANAgwQdqZqogH
two out of the three people here knew each other,35Please respect copyright.PENANAlrPEJNohlw
but had to pretend they didn’t,35Please respect copyright.PENANAhCQpU3ybCx
all while being herded together by the third person…35Please respect copyright.PENANAvBBMr2EimB
for dinner.
The two brothers silently watched the woman walking steadily ahead of them—Claire.
One thought passed between them:35Please respect copyright.PENANAl7lu5h5A8q
This dinner... there are going to be questions.
35Please respect copyright.PENANAXXLfBxE4xG