Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3rrKAkJrU
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7UwCRzJbo
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTOtEX3Z2v
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sVWbBorC6
“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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4UFslrQDG
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFUARIQeWQ
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuy9RW1nKE0
I’m a good citizen.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwyBty5T1d
Really.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCiHQIbRWb
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NSFLMkYh2
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgNk5UYnLw
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYscgbm8ZV
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUxKktDYvn
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0w9ws9MXM
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6Tn1PuinU
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufIthjyTpV
Firm, steady. Familiar.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpL3kBDE9W
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.
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lOJB2ZwnR
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VPIKizUPc
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3aj69AP7i
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.—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa91dyfMyLi
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1LjNNyfCi
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1OSSuiEhH
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrcty6m8BT
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIT6PWKipX
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?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjtjh5cQaY
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtipR9MzHh
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQoDpDEwdy
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XLCGx9xo9
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJoDIH9s0j
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…24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd4czeYQDm
Was the light in his eyes.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4reK2zXES1
