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
