And then came the explanation.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYNzZDJ6Nu
The daily boss fight.
Her hardest task, every time:21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcUhgDWXDg
Convince someone in under five minutes that she wasn’t crazy, the world wasn’t broken—just... cracked.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fEtnNPpox
A little.
Claire had it down to an art now.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSElxXm13h1
She’d practiced.
Step one: start with “I had a dream.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPrFshXhkI
Then ease into “The dream was real.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUpfGUyoUu
Follow up with “You were here yesterday too.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnI2zOsFSB
And finally close with “You all forgot, but I didn’t.”
Boom. Five minutes.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6hFt0zNsl
Scripted, rehearsed, and repeatable.
She’d even gotten used to asking Nightwing or Robin for their earpieces directly.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41eIqDpCPC
Why waste time relaying info like it was a game of telephone? Batman was usually already online.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBm5t0hzWMc
It was more efficient to just brief everyone at once.
She could feel herself becoming part of their workflow.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWC20erR4zt
A new kind of muscle memory.
Alfred always started with, “Oh dear, Miss Claire, terribly sorry we forgot you again.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQl5t2hz3Z2
Batman, on the other hand, delivered every voice message like it was a field command.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZV9zKNtH0Q
Concise. Authoritative. Meant to be followed.
Then came the status update.
Usually the same:21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wwsvLc5hf
“Nothing changed today.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8kAkGx3J2
“Sky hasn’t cracked.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CZd01QKAV
“Bagels sold well.”
She’d said some version of that report over thirty times now.
Batman had banned her from sky-watching.
“It interferes with your perception. Makes the fissure too active.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3T0MipMih
He’d said it like a doctor warning against too much caffeine, calm and clinical.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bsusoateG
But it had kept her up all night.
He told her once a week was enough.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6yufPibxi
“If it’s coming, it will let you see it.”
And somehow, that was the most terrifying thing he’d said yet.
Because it meant he knew—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSXPLomt9Q
this wasn’t something she was observing.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mb0affSnK
It was something that could observe her back.
This was her fourth report.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7r5ZrCbCnr
Still nothing.
No updates.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0mwC5KNC2
No signs.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEIl9pC55C
Just that eerie nothingness that made her more anxious than any actual event.
Was nothing a good sign?21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqsGYe5MGq
Or was it just... waiting?21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqwc1c9mZA
Watching?21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNCgFBRkGn
Calculating when she’d slip up?
After reporting, Claire wandered the safehouse.
Fiddling with the gear that still looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmoas1pVMZ
Sometimes she sneakily Googled manuals to understand what they did.
Now, she could switch between three different surveillance modes,21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm55bGGW1eD
and knew exactly which button sent a distress call.
She knew how the tech worked.
Because here, she couldn’t afford to just be “that girl who says the sky is broken.”
She had to become “the calm anomaly who explains things clearly and can handle equipment.”
That’s how they’d believe her.
That she was still sane.
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3DN5kKEGs
Claire thought everything would keep repeating.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhsPUXzGU1
She'd come to see the infinite loop as some kind of twisted safety net—a bizarre, but reliable routine.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprxgZs9lEO
No surprises.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZcLyjoueE
No endings.
She really believed that.
Even Batman’s exact eyebrow twitch, or the second Nightwing’s half-suspicious smile would appear—she could time it like a metronome.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZCNl0bXAr
This lifestyle gave her a kind of mechanical calm.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniwgzP9BHx
Predictable.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdT0t8PaVLF
Stable.
Every day, reintroduce herself.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4s286A5bBj
Control her tone.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZE0z0ElLB
Deliver the optimal info load to minimize questions.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYhgwVQwDm
She had tested different explanations before, but eventually chose the most efficient version.
Now she could deliver her entire situation in under three minutes.
"I’m Claire. Time resets for me. Every day’s the same."
Said with all the emotional depth of reading a toaster manual.
She could now operate almost everything in the safehouse.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoElauMlVZ
Which screen was for surveillance.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XXTNTGlwH
Which device disrupted signals.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusYsygbZz6
Which red light meant “don’t touch.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfXa3qquH6
Muscle memory, baby.
And then the fissure check.
Take out the telescope.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojEMurYxAK
Angle it just right.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipaMmn7vHj
Deep breath.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpYHcHW5nP
Close the right eye.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fFhxAYIGx
Don’t stare too long.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡet72ul639l
She knew better now—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XZonnRfmT
something out there might stare back.
That was the routine.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ925V5GC3M5
A strange balance—between madness and clarity, between combat and café shifts, between her and it.
Until one morning, Claire wrote Day 296 on the paper.
The line under the six came out a little too dark.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzS8Vkxa3LU
She stared at it.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROPr64gZ0T
296.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWNtNatapk
Too close to 300.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67ekuidlHL
She didn’t know why, but it made her uneasy.
She opened her café.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzggArt9fWf
Same as the previous 295 times.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1pM1xpEOW
The air was damp.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdrbXd21PA
The coffee machine hissed to life.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMuN8zSnxa
She could smell a bit of machine oil in the steam.
It felt like a ritual.
She grabbed the newspaper from Nightwing.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOHeoTiKhK
Still couldn’t help glancing at that photo.
She once told him, “When this is over, please face the other way on the front page. I’m tired of seeing your butt on this side.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYkYlLRAV6
She had no idea what his face looked like when he heard that.
Probably something between a syntax error and mild panic—eyes flicking between her and the newspaper, ending with an awkward laugh before walking off.
At 10 a.m., right on cue, Officer Dick walked in for his bagel.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFkPjv4A26
Just like the last 295 mornings.
Claire picked up the paper bag, ready to begin her usual clairvoyant babble.
Today’s theme: “Temporal resonance between past and future.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrc2h695G4E
Weird enough to raise eyebrows.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTG99D1ZoyE
Not so weird to get committed.
She’d mastered that line between oracle and lunatic.
As she handed him the bag—
Just as her fingertips brushed the paper fold—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRy0E6ihvn
her eardrums exploded with a boom.
A deep, subterranean rumble shook the ground.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2kJFZ5clk
Low. Prolonged.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtp2wZ76Ve
Like something ancient was groaning awake beneath their feet.
An earthquake.
Claire had no time to think.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IM3TFbDFl
The floor pitched sideways.
She lost balance.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgpxRlM3yq
Grabbed the edge of the bar—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyU37srprQ4
but it moved too. Everything was moving. Bag dropped.
The officer caught her.
One hand on her shoulder.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizWqEvEY4A
One on her waist.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBG6khRkHG
Pulled her back from the quake, held her steady.
She caught a hint of detergent on his shirt.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbTc5WzAKB
And something else—something sharper.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZC7sllYbKk
Almost like panic.
They balanced each other.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhk2TyGVDH2
Her against his chest.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKyyH6a43e
Him braced against the wall.
Two magnets wobbling in chaos, finding brief stability in contact.
Things crashed around them.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwMU27KjM9
Mugs.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWm9QdXwzJ
Spice jars.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBv8UwEBmvB
Her precious collection of weird spoons.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5u5baIOB6
All shattered, ringing like breaking glass in a cathedral.
The sound pierced through her thoughts.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMmMUMfczQ
Claire flinched instinctively.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2nwJDqUzu
That noise—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0D8ZIXbVNg
that had never been part of this day before.
The ceiling light above spun wildly.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTSejLVLnU
Shadows on the wall flailed like ghosts.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrfad0ayzq
Her vision swirled.
Then—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQasnn77BP
a hand on her head.
Firm. Protective.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl057UOitTz
Not planned. Just reflex.
His palm cradled her crown.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlUqJYTijZ
Like making sure her skull stayed intact.
He pulled her closer.
Not just to keep her upright—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJgVyk7APE
but like he needed to.
He guided her to a corner.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncYvEZ6iTO
No shelves. No glass.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJ3HzRxmNe
Just two bare walls.
A temporary shelter.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcW18TANxc
A makeshift haven.
And then—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDbNqiPPRF
after nearly a minute—
The shaking slowed.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWE0QXqTaFB
The walls stopped growling.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxWZsoHd7J
The ceiling went still.
Silence.
The kind that makes your heartbeat sound like it’s on loudspeaker.
The officer slowly let go of her.
Took a step back.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuYYfeiToU
Trying to see her face.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUEdYSit9c
Check her expression.
Brows furrowed, eyes scanning—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJbZCls8JM
forehead, cheek, neck.
Was she hurt?
Then—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzKkzCwUM7
he froze.
His eyes locked on a spot on her face.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kO9EI2cxk
Still. Wide.
Like something familiar had just torn open.
A single line of blood was dripping21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxXv9b7Gzd
from the golden-brown eye21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Azj9mNPUZ
on her left.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvdGfUEGrf
