For the first time, Claire didn’t open the café.
No scent of coffee wafted from her window,51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXm7wGNGef
No familiar whir from the bagel press.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4VaQ8ME7n
Instead, her hands—usually busy kneading dough by sunrise—were holding a marker,51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiXsR9JkPM
Drawing arrows across a whiteboard like she was about to teach a conspiracy seminar.
She hadn’t slept. Not a minute.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6K2RNo8XP
Because Batman had said:51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0W8DVntpY
“Don’t sleep.”
He’d said it calmly—too calmly.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL8se4qCyR
But the words had made her scalp tighten.
“If you fall asleep, the loop resets.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9CupXo0K6
What we need tonight is continuity. Not broken memories trapped in the same repeating day.”
“You said everything stays the same every time you wake up.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaY5CG2wxrv
Then that means anything that changes—happens while you're still awake.”
Claire had wanted to push back—“Why does it matter? You’ll forget everything anyway.”51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQPC210y26
But Batman shook his head, speaking slowly, deliberately:
“You need analysis.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1Y9Iyr84Z
You need to practice recounting your data.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlph7FbqbtN
I’ll leave a way to contact me.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sRgt2dVk4
But you can’t start from the beginning every time.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQfscP4DJt
You’ll need to find a way to tell the future-me everything—precisely—and what to do next.”
Claire had just… stared at him.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsuDpjERLA
Because for the first time, someone wasn’t saying she was crazy.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlbAck760S
He was listening.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmp6LEpCB6v
He was thinking.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSavInNvIgz
He was—Batman.
And being a Gotham native, she felt this absurd, unexpected comfort rise up in her chest:
“At least it’s Batman.”51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVETbxBy2J
If anyone could break the loop, it’d be him.
So she got to work.
Dragged the giant whiteboard her aunt had for some reason left behind from the second floor to the third.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4qCVvNAwC
It was the kind of thing you see in old cram schools—half cracked, fully inconvenient.
Nightwing offered to help.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsajyrqwns
They squeezed it up the stairs together, getting stuck at the landing for a moment.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbeJRS3GAx
He gave her a small glance and asked, voice quiet,51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZSMuMZlfF
“You holding up?”
Claire was not.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxL0K3iLjHR
Her arms were shaking.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKnSuT17Ow
Her eyes were dry.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSb1W3ZAFZG
She felt like she’d downed three energy drinks and was vibrating slightly off-axis.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x3cR0ClLz
But she still smiled and replied:51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVq3XBWxNe
“I’m good.”
It was a lie for herself.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbL82IQrN59
To remember she still could smile. Still could move forward.
Back upstairs, she brewed three coffees and a milk.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvBwvQJd5a
Nightwing took his with a polite nod.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwBsxrj8oO
Robin sniffed the milk, made a face, and set it down.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxnJkKhtpw
Batman didn’t touch his cup.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKttVe2DZJq
He was already focused on the board.
“Let’s start. When did you first notice something was off?”
Claire stood in front of the board.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5iKPv1uAw
The marker hovered just above its surface.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8rGbESXUD
That’s when she realized—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3w3mv5OYA
Her so-called "clues" were embarrassingly few.
“Uh... at first, nothing big. Thought I was just misremembering stuff,”51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSh2qgPLXM
“Then I noticed everything was the same. Every single thing. That’s when I started keeping track.”
She told them about the first time Robin knocked on the hotel window.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoNC8OZ4uL
About Nightwing showing up on her balcony like clockwork.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgLfu3CsrC
About the cursed bagel swap—the chocolate replaced by plain.
(None of it felt funny anymore.)
Batman didn’t say a word.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobhBtvmo5x
He stood, back straight, listening.
After each section, he reached for the marker and jotted a few lines on the board.
She didn’t know if he’d remember any of it.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCY4AOJs9de
But right now—right this second—someone understood her loneliness.
Night fell.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1e0fo6h50
The coffee went cold.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbxx3fkf8e
The whiteboard filled up—timelines, branches, points of deviation.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57LQMGqtox
Batman stared at it like it was a war map.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHWbaPLkSM
Brows drawn, jaw tense.
And Claire—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVOAhBd2eH
For the first time in god-knows-how-many loops—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEr4YES4IW
wasn’t alone.
She didn’t have to whisper to herself anymore.
51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNZ1jiEAR7
Claire knew she wasn’t that smart.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjRkXZhZZ7
No, really.
She stood in front of the giant whiteboard—originally used for notes like “Trash on Tuesday” or “Stop buying potatoes”—now filled to the edges with Batman’s handwriting.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGiBW6ZmCm
Tactical terms.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TouLHZ2N4
Observation protocols.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpqegIqalG
Hypothesis trees.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHVQLWhawM
Arrow-filled logic webs about time loop mechanics.
Her brain was buzzing like someone turned on a high-frequency hum in her skull.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAz6wpbCrQ
She could read every word. But when put together, it felt like looking at someone else’s math homework—technically correct, completely unreadable.
Batman had even written her a memory guide.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYzdHKlYUR
Bullet points.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDFaoZESU2
Key phrases.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIWOepzwLu
Color-coded charts.
Didn’t matter.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaoTS5ojdY
Once she closed her eyes—gone.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FCxlwJW7t
Just gone.
So she had to memorize.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTvNylqTcW
Raw memorization.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2kGpvh0MZ
Claire slammed her pen down on the desk, fingers diving into her tangled hair.
“God, I hate memorizing.”
It was like elementary school all over again—facing a multiplication quiz while still stuck on “7 times 8 is... what again?”51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2e76w0NwYf
Total academic despair.
She glared at the board and forced herself to read it out loud:
- Establish a consistent, simplified daily communication method51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sEe9H7cpW
- Design self-verification protocols51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSagSChhCY1
- Identify the rupture point in the time loop51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFpo0G2Oxx
- Develop coping mechanisms for mental strain51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHva4mk5uRd
- Test whether sleep is the trigger for resets51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfzpDasZYR
51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66Ib1uQ0aL
And below those?51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMESocgfiHm
Bullet point hell.
Claire nearly burst into tears.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk70xDf6QDB
Wasn’t this the kind of thing you hired Batman to do?51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIkvn7HY4Y
She was a bagel-slinging café owner, not a goddamn temporal physicist.
Nightwing and Robin had left around dawn.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9609fWBUu0
She’d thought she’d feel relief.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYJEeePcSf
She didn’t.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx83gT0Phc2
She felt like a balloon blown up way past safe capacity.
And Batman? Still here.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFS2aOh4UCs
Sitting at her tiny desk like he owned it.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jT14gr60K
Folding her notes into crisp little squares like some kind of insomnia robot.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInyuHmybxN
She was starting to believe he didn’t even need sleep.
She had briefly wondered if he’d vanish at sunrise like a vampire or some brooding mythic shadow.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOsYTFHC3p
Nope.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgm3Y0flLP
Still here.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyGl4SmTXO
Drank her coffee.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYbuc19VaE
Ate a croissant.
Batman eats food.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekTKNQ2aWs
Claire noted this with bewildered internal sarcasm.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6nnEpKalz
And, somehow… it made her feel a little more human.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLkMWIzbiY
A little more grounded.
Then 2 p.m. hit.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRgSIIA7dI
And she just—couldn’t.
Her head throbbed like someone was banging pots inside it.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8QocM3kdD
A rhythmic BONG—BONG—BONG of pure pain.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEKOUhMIT4
Her ears were ringing.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuioJUYC7X7
Her vision was starting to blur.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7gSawETSi
She hadn’t slept in way too long.
Even Batman’s voice faded into background noise.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfj3WheesE6
She could hear words, but they drifted by like waterlogged scraps of paper.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfuhS7T9Xv
No structure. No connection.
Her neck gave out first.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLZSC3hBRV
Then her whole body slumped—soft and useless like an overcooked noodle.
Then she heard it.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5i1nyXyOuh
A sigh.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmToggwdDl
Low.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvg0Ih6fPK
Close.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAXrP4Rsrs
The kind of sigh you make when you don’t want to do something… but know you have to.
Then she was being lifted.
That jolt of surprise cleared her vision just long enough to see a pair of blue eyes.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3FlE7XgNV
So blue. So clear.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabmB5CDATv
Like the first star that refuses to leave the morning sky.
Nightwing, she thought.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT04XNruqKa
But she couldn’t speak.
From somewhere nearby, Batman’s voice drifted in—calm, slow, final:
“Claire. Remember what I told you.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBIE1KdRFv
Protect yourself first. Then find the truth.”
Someone laid her down.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljxvOnYs3k
Pulled the blanket up.
The scent of sunlight-warmed fabric and stale coffee beans wrapped around her.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ynyHdAiGW
Her bed was soft. So soft.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYlroHein5
And for the first time in what felt like forever—she realized how badly she needed sleep.
Her mind tried to process what she’d forgotten.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFs42CHeti
Was there something she needed to say? Do?
Too late.
The dark caught her.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20aTkAvdz0
Held her.
Perfectly.
51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3rM07zYPg
Claire was awake. Again.
Same ceiling.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUC0TOCRM8
Same sheets.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFpKA0pxLX
Same sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rYlwZxQZx
Even the dust floating in the air looked copy-pasted from yesterday.
She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then took a long, deep breath.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixGLw7Rw2N
No headache.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsT3IzvYnu
No nausea.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkWM2JrVzD
Her whole body felt like someone had swapped it out for a new one. Even her stomach was fine.
Creepy.
Apparently, any sickness will vanish overnight—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbD1ZFrTezJ
If you're stuck in a time loop.
Day Ten.
She got out of bed, rubbing her temple as she walked. Her thoughts were sluggish, and the words "Day Ten" rolled through her mind like a bowling ball in slow motion—silent but heavy.
She grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote "Day 10" on it with a thick black marker, placing it in the corner of her desk.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RyRysE8zR
It was her memory thread.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡub4gNHveE7
Her own little mark carved into an unremembering world.
Day Ten was the day Batman showed up.
Claire looked at the words for a moment, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Guess I’m kind of impressive, huh?"
If people in Gotham knew all it took to summon Batman was repeating the same day ten times, half the city would start dabbling in time magic.
She got dressed, went downstairs, and opened the café.
Today she cleaned the windows extra thoroughly.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdt7QAiS4vA
Then she took out a pink sticky note and scribbled on it:51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5e3a9iLkvG
“Today’s Bagel: Plain.”
She stuck it on the glass, stepped back to check.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxILKn662JA
It stood out.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVuZcwl7uZ
Bright and silly. Hard to miss.
Then she frowned.
Wait—why am I even doing this?
No one else would remember.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX095NHxyN
Only she knew what day it was.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlgsUudoWU
Only she knew today’s bagel was different from yesterday’s.
But Batman had said it:
“You need a daily signal. Something visible. Something subconscious. Something verifiable.”
Maybe, just maybe…51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBqucUOMJZ
Someday, someone like her might see that note.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2ZQO3FCpr
And feel something click.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcKrTCvQgg
Some resonance.
Claire snorted.
“No deadlines, infinite time. What a dream.”
Colder than her fridge.
What kind of absurd life was this?51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCOcnUSvdT
She felt like a corrupted file stuck in the wrong folder—just looping and glitching.
She glanced at the clock. 9:57.
Her eyes drifted to the door.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfVFeIr5M6
Her body tensed, that silent alertness creeping in.
Blue-eyed cop.
Batman had asked about him over and over last night—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCCYV2jDVx
What he wore.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPXKO4IhY1
His tone of voice.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gjPilJVZ7
Which hand he used to take out his wallet.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHRgBLB4pT
What angle he walked in from.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0m8COIdLPy
How long he looked at the counter.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHb6GNKStt
The pitch of his thank-you.
“You see this man every day. That means he’s not random. He’s a variable. He’s meaningful.”
Claire stood behind the register, adjusting the screen angle while mentally replaying every word.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78Iysujmfe
Meaningful. Variable. Breach point.
She wanted to snap back—
“Oh sure, easy for you to say. This isn’t an RPG. How the hell am I supposed to spot a glitch in reality?”
But she didn’t.
She just bit her lip, sorted the coin tray, zipped up the change pouch.
She was still wondering—
Was he Batman’s informant at the station?
She shook her head, started folding a dish towel in half, just as she placed it into the second drawer—
The Door Chimed.
Crisp. On time.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8W2UoyGn0
Like it was baked into the script of the day.
Claire’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuhosFlpw6
9:59.
The door pushed open.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jditjgfnv
A familiar pair of blue eyes swept into the room.
They always looked like they carried morning fog—clear, cool, and oddly pure for a city like Gotham.
“Hi, you’re Claire, right? Kyle said the bagels would be out late today. Sent me to pick up the order.”
He smiled—polite, just a touch tired.
Claire didn’t respond right away. She just stared at him.
Stared so long she started to feel like a creep, as if she were peeking at the core of some cosmic mystery that hadn’t realized it was a mystery yet.
Is it you?51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo74FKT4CCE
Or are you just another poor guy trying to buy breakfast?
God, she wanted him to be different.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs61fEa1qxy
Even five minutes late would’ve been something.
But nope.
Right on time.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynXvVNEhe7
Said the exact same line.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXu464iZ3Ny
Paid with the same bills.
Claire considered doing a little test.
A spark lit in her head: Batman.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlth1twNK8G
If this guy was an informant, that name would definitely spark some kind of reaction.
She narrowed her eyes, parted her lips—
Then shut them again.
Nope. Too much.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt03Bjt75Wn
You don’t just ask a random cop, “Hey, do you know Batman?”51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCDwg03oZS
That’s how you end up with a referral to a psychiatrist by tomorrow.
Plan B.
She pointed to the pink note on the window.
“Did you see that?”
Blue Eyes blinked, glanced at the window, then nodded.
“Yeah, I saw it.”
But his face clearly read: “Okay… and?”
Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AYfncOkAA
That one’s not working. Time to upgrade.
She grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a sentence, and slid it across the counter.
“Do you ever feel like the sun today won’t make it to tomorrow?”
She’d spent days refining that line in her head—poetic, haunting, a little tragic.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eJP0QFAmG
Surely it would hit something.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEegwCQUQ0Q
Maybe he’d respond: “How did you know?” or “I’ve been feeling the same.”
He read it.
Paused.
Then frowned.
“Uhh… if you ever need someone to talk to, I know a really good therapist.”
Claire, mentally: ……
Great.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4gw16EqDW
Another morning, another conversation added to the Folder of Cringe.
She forced a smile.
“Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
He handed her the money, smiled again, and left.
The door shut.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFGZF1Frw9
The chime rang a second time.
Claire remained where she was, staring at the now-empty doorway.
A quiet line drifted through her mind:
Test Result: Inconclusive.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsV1mdBPfj
Day 10. Blue-Eyed Officer.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nC732fUb9
No noticeable deviations.
But hey—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9LEVLCbZA
At least she tried.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSX8OuYWH8
