In Dick’s mind, only one sentence was now echoing in absolute chaos:
Robin is actually in Blüdhaven?! Why?!
He tried to stay calm, racking his brain for any reasonable explanation—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6TDUerjgI
Was it a mission? Emergency backup?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CvYpDdHKC
A covert operation arranged by Batman?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAec464rubN
But none of these scenarios had anything to do with… a casual dinner date.
Claire didn’t bother checking his expression,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoPQ485qfo
nor did she turn to confirm if he was still following along.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJTlFnMyUn
She simply raised her right hand, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFxHMbZTdA
then brought it to her lips—
FWEEEEEEEET—!
A loud, piercing whistle cut through the quiet evening.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBidBfuPvW
Fortunately, there weren’t many people around.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToiIAbIlIr
The few passersby only glanced over before quickly averting their eyes.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1uQNZXu0m
This was Blüdhaven—minding your own business was the only way to survive.
But—Robin heard it.
He was just swinging across the rooftop on the opposite side of the street when the sound reached him.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsTOOej6HQ
He turned immediately.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqs5YdzQEpZ
From where the whistle came, he spotted a familiar silhouette standing next to a woman he didn’t recognize.
He didn’t hesitate.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyvBfbIiiC
His grappling line shot out again.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXQiMlXdAj
He twisted mid-air, soared across the gap, and landed with precision—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4oPIbP5QU
as if he’d practiced that exact landing a hundred times.
And when he landed in front of Claire and Dick—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSl2pHPEtV
there was a pause.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQ14MSDK5S
The three of them stood there, wrapped in a silence so heavy, it felt like someone had hit the pause button on reality.
Dick didn’t know what to say first.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZzeNGk6iM
Robin didn’t know what to say first either.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YmAx0xtoH
Claire simply stood there watching the two of them, curious to see if either would break the silence.
This wasn’t some random encounter.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOFXEXaUNK
This was Claire’s doing.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw75kzjRdym
She wanted to see exactly what kind of relationship this “informant” had with the Bat family.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNhrnPDs2j
She needed a controlled experiment.
The three of them looked at one another—eye contact full of signals,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmh6ZzXNZv
but still not a single word.
Dick’s gaze shifted first.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtfGsJyYFE
He quickly flashed a look at Robin, trying to convey:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIoni86UDT
“Why the hell are you here?”
Then he immediately followed up with a second, more urgent expression:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejTnpH61Ch
“I’m just plain ol’ Dick Grayson right now. Don’t blow my cover.”
Robin, on the other hand, eyed the pair with mild suspicion.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSziphiisTT
The girl was clearly dressed up.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ShMqwvL00
The guy looked relaxed but well put-together.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK65NGXneZC
They were walking together down the street—
Wait… is this a date?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZO50P8doW
Did I just interrupt a date?
But if it’s a date, why did the girl call him here?
Claire watched them continue their silent exchange,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42Dj22xdPN
and then shrugged—like she’d already seen through everything,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwT6kePekER
and had no intention of letting this awkward silence drag on.
She stepped forward, her voice clear and calm, instantly snapping both men’s attention back to her.
“Do you two know each other?”
Both of them shook their heads at the same time.
Identical motions.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IPaMdrwBr
So fake it was almost insulting.
Claire raised an eyebrow, giving them a subtle “you expect me to believe that?” smile.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrA3Jlpror
But her tone remained utterly composed:
“Is that so?”
Without waiting for their answer,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvK733mvBR
she calmly lifted her hand and pointed to Dick:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlceuNW5yxW
“This is Officer Dick Grayson.”
Then she pointed at Robin:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfgK1xG639
“This is Robin.”
Finally, she pointed at herself:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPv444Qe6nr
“I’m Claire.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxbyZhKgTK
Nice to meet you both.”
Her tone was pleasant, her smile faint,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDGzdKPxDc
as if she were hosting the most polite and bizarre matchmaking event in Blüdhaven history.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4whzZCkvMP
Three people—familiar yet unfamiliar—stood together on the streets of Blüdhaven.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxM93EpnIY
A cold wind blew past, lifting the corner of a newspaper by a trash can, sending it fluttering briefly before it dropped back down in the dark.
Claire’s introductions had ended like a sterile handoff in a lab—cold, but undeniably effective.
After introducing herself, she promptly announced,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTQBsqXTqL
“Alright, let’s go eat.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshXbHq9keh
Then she turned around as if this gathering was nothing more than a dinner reservation she'd made in advance.
If Dick hadn’t been here—Robin swore—he definitely would’ve declined.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkqUGq6dXL
Seriously.
Even if this woman was suspicious,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaEGrY1uBh
even if she somehow knew his name,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRczzvR7gM
he could’ve come up with a hundred reasons to walk away.
But the problem was—he had too many questions.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidIW4pmwUC
And the source of those questions was standing right in front of him.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOdRQefNYB
His name: Dick Grayson.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLszEAEQIp
Current status: “normal police officer,”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2zzsmeCNW
currently on a date with this mysterious woman.
Now he had to pretend not to know Dick…9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtl24Uh44ML
and join Dick’s date.
What the hell kind of scenario is this?
He glanced sideways at Dick, his expression crystal clear:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0m0nQ6j9U5
“Bro. What are you doing?”
Dick was already looking at him—his face pale as chalk.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrCQ1KbP3h
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Walking beside Claire, Dick had completely lost his grasp on logic.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21Pdu6Wpzb
His brain felt like it had been stuffed with bagels—twelve of them—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iy8OKFs5A
jammed in all at once, and not a single one swallowed.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgCyPMyCHG
Too many questions, too many contradictions, too many puzzle pieces with no edges.
And now he had to pretend he didn’t know Robin.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oXtMd2pO5
And the three of them were going to dinner.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb9gph2x8A
Together.
What kind of bizarre combination is this?
If Batman found out, he might just blow up the kitchen in the Batcave.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3O2yR947YZ
Was this a leak in their intel network… or some kind of multiverse misalignment?
So—did Robin know Claire?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoDGf1O1F4
The thought suddenly popped into Dick’s head.
He deliberately let his arm fall to his side, slowed his pace slightly to trail behind a step,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoR66zqth6x
then subtly pointed a finger at Claire, silently asking,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmQTEZ2Ptz
“Do you know her?”
Robin shook his head.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMhktPhiXE
Clean, crisp, and absolute.
Dick let out a small breath of relief.
Great. He doesn’t know her.
Which meant—now the questions became:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwBIgc98J7
How did she contact Robin?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQKX3nXpzm
Why did she invite him to dinner?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPM4VpCa4YE
And why drag Dick into it too?
Even more absurd—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKjUgyGliN
two out of the three people here knew each other,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYATx4rE8QT
but had to pretend they didn’t,9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkakMIUmeAl
all while being herded together by the third person…9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCKUfGnRJS
for dinner.
The two brothers silently watched the woman walking steadily ahead of them—Claire.
One thought passed between them:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa33DsCVjh7
This dinner... there are going to be questions.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0dz4pTGLx
