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—48Please respect copyright.PENANASzdwMT5tGZ
Was it a mission? Emergency backup?48Please respect copyright.PENANA3rhxNylcC1
A covert operation arranged by Batman?48Please respect copyright.PENANA5fzdRu7RR8
But none of these scenarios had anything to do with… a casual dinner date.
Claire didn’t bother checking his expression,48Please respect copyright.PENANAEpRmBNWJoU
nor did she turn to confirm if he was still following along.48Please respect copyright.PENANAwuY4Z4ST1k
She simply raised her right hand, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger,48Please respect copyright.PENANAe9o6OE7nbx
then brought it to her lips—
FWEEEEEEEET—!
A loud, piercing whistle cut through the quiet evening.48Please respect copyright.PENANAtdBhJu7ak1
Fortunately, there weren’t many people around.48Please respect copyright.PENANA2MiLUmMB7i
The few passersby only glanced over before quickly averting their eyes.48Please respect copyright.PENANAJjnelL7Jdj
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.48Please respect copyright.PENANAwu29ow8m0V
He turned immediately.48Please respect copyright.PENANAs309eEPm87
From where the whistle came, he spotted a familiar silhouette standing next to a woman he didn’t recognize.
He didn’t hesitate.48Please respect copyright.PENANAe0b12x3MH1
His grappling line shot out again.48Please respect copyright.PENANAtb1ycFMBm9
He twisted mid-air, soared across the gap, and landed with precision—48Please respect copyright.PENANAmD51KvgNqA
as if he’d practiced that exact landing a hundred times.
And when he landed in front of Claire and Dick—48Please respect copyright.PENANAdWs9kSav8w
there was a pause.48Please respect copyright.PENANAZ1aQWs7ufI
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.48Please respect copyright.PENANAes0CsGAV0L
Robin didn’t know what to say first either.48Please respect copyright.PENANAEASBveZu0i
Claire simply stood there watching the two of them, curious to see if either would break the silence.
This wasn’t some random encounter.48Please respect copyright.PENANA672z8poBHP
This was Claire’s doing.48Please respect copyright.PENANAcJ14ijkUn9
She wanted to see exactly what kind of relationship this “informant” had with the Bat family.48Please respect copyright.PENANAxOYK1eimpN
She needed a controlled experiment.
The three of them looked at one another—eye contact full of signals,48Please respect copyright.PENANAIFzqOxm5iW
but still not a single word.
Dick’s gaze shifted first.48Please respect copyright.PENANAgLjrH0Fr0o
He quickly flashed a look at Robin, trying to convey:48Please respect copyright.PENANAMLf6cm2vZo
“Why the hell are you here?”
Then he immediately followed up with a second, more urgent expression:48Please respect copyright.PENANARAeLMi9Zxy
“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.48Please respect copyright.PENANA8rhzzuAX5b
The girl was clearly dressed up.48Please respect copyright.PENANA4riFXBYC9U
The guy looked relaxed but well put-together.48Please respect copyright.PENANAh2QRHPpzDt
They were walking together down the street—
Wait… is this a date?48Please respect copyright.PENANAjpEBF6UutH
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,48Please respect copyright.PENANAJE4kcOBG8e
and then shrugged—like she’d already seen through everything,48Please respect copyright.PENANAaG8JrRbhw3
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.48Please respect copyright.PENANATgXswOIEXn
So fake it was almost insulting.
Claire raised an eyebrow, giving them a subtle “you expect me to believe that?” smile.48Please respect copyright.PENANAOUCfXRSOHk
But her tone remained utterly composed:
“Is that so?”
Without waiting for their answer,48Please respect copyright.PENANAG5CUZ508Rz
she calmly lifted her hand and pointed to Dick:48Please respect copyright.PENANA1KNq7v7Jp3
“This is Officer Dick Grayson.”
Then she pointed at Robin:48Please respect copyright.PENANA6R7O0x2sns
“This is Robin.”
Finally, she pointed at herself:48Please respect copyright.PENANAAjNf5Y18Rn
“I’m Claire.48Please respect copyright.PENANAPOTYVN4NGL
Nice to meet you both.”
Her tone was pleasant, her smile faint,48Please respect copyright.PENANAj7spRZbeE3
as if she were hosting the most polite and bizarre matchmaking event in Blüdhaven history.
48Please respect copyright.PENANA02KXpR1Car
Three people—familiar yet unfamiliar—stood together on the streets of Blüdhaven.48Please respect copyright.PENANAiLm4DFzHZd
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,48Please respect copyright.PENANAMFADORGMVp
“Alright, let’s go eat.”48Please respect copyright.PENANA4Tzoimftsn
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.48Please respect copyright.PENANA23i1S8Xdkv
Seriously.
Even if this woman was suspicious,48Please respect copyright.PENANATUoAsDngfB
even if she somehow knew his name,48Please respect copyright.PENANAP7tNp6jfVD
he could’ve come up with a hundred reasons to walk away.
But the problem was—he had too many questions.48Please respect copyright.PENANAIQHq22u82w
And the source of those questions was standing right in front of him.48Please respect copyright.PENANARI1mmgDh73
His name: Dick Grayson.48Please respect copyright.PENANASAy7yTAV1e
Current status: “normal police officer,”48Please respect copyright.PENANA3r4vTySMJo
currently on a date with this mysterious woman.
Now he had to pretend not to know Dick…48Please respect copyright.PENANAb9ZVcEGqpZ
and join Dick’s date.
What the hell kind of scenario is this?
He glanced sideways at Dick, his expression crystal clear:48Please respect copyright.PENANATrLuTJ8F7l
“Bro. What are you doing?”
Dick was already looking at him—his face pale as chalk.48Please respect copyright.PENANAC7YDsk1Zke
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Walking beside Claire, Dick had completely lost his grasp on logic.48Please respect copyright.PENANAB6KuaAWlg6
His brain felt like it had been stuffed with bagels—twelve of them—48Please respect copyright.PENANAyKavtAcIY6
jammed in all at once, and not a single one swallowed.48Please respect copyright.PENANAlIx6MV5rjk
Too many questions, too many contradictions, too many puzzle pieces with no edges.
And now he had to pretend he didn’t know Robin.48Please respect copyright.PENANAohg9y5dVKQ
And the three of them were going to dinner.48Please respect copyright.PENANA2nvaX0WBkR
Together.
What kind of bizarre combination is this?
If Batman found out, he might just blow up the kitchen in the Batcave.48Please respect copyright.PENANAXGRJ86HMZD
Was this a leak in their intel network… or some kind of multiverse misalignment?
So—did Robin know Claire?48Please respect copyright.PENANAvvToGcUMGg
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,48Please respect copyright.PENANAGX1SjhN077
then subtly pointed a finger at Claire, silently asking,48Please respect copyright.PENANAUzf6NqqlZY
“Do you know her?”
Robin shook his head.48Please respect copyright.PENANAoFftgvy2VB
Clean, crisp, and absolute.
Dick let out a small breath of relief.
Great. He doesn’t know her.
Which meant—now the questions became:48Please respect copyright.PENANAzrxwuaaDP9
How did she contact Robin?48Please respect copyright.PENANAa8tHygGCMb
Why did she invite him to dinner?48Please respect copyright.PENANA2OuqoTO0O8
And why drag Dick into it too?
Even more absurd—48Please respect copyright.PENANAHbglz6lKoY
two out of the three people here knew each other,48Please respect copyright.PENANA0K7sejf3Bq
but had to pretend they didn’t,48Please respect copyright.PENANAs7MKiM5F4c
all while being herded together by the third person…48Please respect copyright.PENANA2cbafhS71s
for dinner.
The two brothers silently watched the woman walking steadily ahead of them—Claire.
One thought passed between them:48Please respect copyright.PENANAgMGqBtGhlO
This dinner... there are going to be questions.
48Please respect copyright.PENANAWTc0LXkCrE