Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZtBQMgQBD
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9pZPrEwQ7
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjr0Ql9W8GF
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfPxekYPfB
“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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6lxrzczr3
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdNUEBxukJ
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5xBTWclHX
I’m a good citizen.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZ5mwMHiNw
Really.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhrnAUR24o
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93thehuT8U
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDwAJws3CY
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPDEr7ZaEz
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMAJ6b1fXV
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARSBECiKLh
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcJB2dW6Uk
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIfel3xL3t
Firm, steady. Familiar.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWEyxOHl7w
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.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwokvgdEeg
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:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3T0b1v3zx
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdll6s8zE24
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.—34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReAkrSOP0D
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVpADJv9og
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OyYQslyGV
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yCHJA7k5Y
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:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpxfJTxNRP
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?34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5o7S1hiG1r
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuMvV2QmF0
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEZHBzMs3n
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6GYLbVVwb
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxv4mQJSH3t
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…34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDRCkbuR5d
Was the light in his eyes.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSn8UntPkY
