Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2uw0w6RgL
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.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18DQTy4hFm
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70iAXRIfz4
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsSgMv7270
“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.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMe4jWzS4Kh
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOz1Urcl4nR
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsuND1BfKY
I’m a good citizen.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfy3e5c1mFo
Really.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnHbBXVI0a
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.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7U0X4olXnP
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlbgHaL12P
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.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRQ1HozfIB
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5hC8oSmBV
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9dd6i8tVY
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23OM90ApOb
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6k7J918Da
Firm, steady. Familiar.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8rmWS9Reg
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.
44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVdxIMbM4T
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:44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaOvnF8QC9
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.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKvoeIh7E9
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.—44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxokHfN7R9B
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouba1Osnqv
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrSfb4vYq3
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjp43MhoS4h
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:44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHQXwSXqOy
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?44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57RUEMYtu2
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ639dp5XOTa
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMKH7WN8tg
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55FhgqroKB
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.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUSVjJdXj3
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…44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJG6xDXcA99
Was the light in his eyes.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpjhLLQbcZ
