For the first time, Claire didn’t open the café.
No scent of coffee wafted from her window,77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDgSHuWSkx
No familiar whir from the bagel press.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgM8w9Rb4r3
Instead, her hands—usually busy kneading dough by sunrise—were holding a marker,77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGh7cBz5mbQ
Drawing arrows across a whiteboard like she was about to teach a conspiracy seminar.
She hadn’t slept. Not a minute.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44WnPuydA6
Because Batman had said:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFBT9QOQcS
“Don’t sleep.”
He’d said it calmly—too calmly.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFKXHTGoil
But the words had made her scalp tighten.
“If you fall asleep, the loop resets.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9gzJP38fG
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJv5TUZ3hh
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.”77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7FMvmDhXM
But Batman shook his head, speaking slowly, deliberately:
“You need analysis.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSsnq19lqf
You need to practice recounting your data.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeA7fSy5Ex
I’ll leave a way to contact me.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQb0BBwrD9g
But you can’t start from the beginning every time.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKr76IQWm2G
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLAptJv66j
Because for the first time, someone wasn’t saying she was crazy.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOm8Ul2q9C
He was listening.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgyVvONGu4
He was thinking.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQyIZ6zBqp
He was—Batman.
And being a Gotham native, she felt this absurd, unexpected comfort rise up in her chest:
“At least it’s Batman.”77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdAQTc6HTV
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWuBRvMnnp
It was the kind of thing you see in old cram schools—half cracked, fully inconvenient.
Nightwing offered to help.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVRliIRZHp
They squeezed it up the stairs together, getting stuck at the landing for a moment.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UUDzsC3xX
He gave her a small glance and asked, voice quiet,77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVcXIdtc8s
“You holding up?”
Claire was not.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7q5OgrH7A1
Her arms were shaking.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCDLaXfAV2
Her eyes were dry.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfBM4E6cOH
She felt like she’d downed three energy drinks and was vibrating slightly off-axis.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKrJ8gomv3
But she still smiled and replied:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tuA6WaggE
“I’m good.”
It was a lie for herself.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TfAan3xZh
To remember she still could smile. Still could move forward.
Back upstairs, she brewed three coffees and a milk.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMv3wt1Pb56
Nightwing took his with a polite nod.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDUzKrhHTB
Robin sniffed the milk, made a face, and set it down.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVEWIIN62I
Batman didn’t touch his cup.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWicL1NEIC
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteNdHwK2cN
The marker hovered just above its surface.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96LRbtX75p
That’s when she realized—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJOgW16QpD
Her so-called "clues" were embarrassingly few.
“Uh... at first, nothing big. Thought I was just misremembering stuff,”77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTsltCp3lg
“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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBnnXY4MIT
About Nightwing showing up on her balcony like clockwork.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNvEreWi9u
About the cursed bagel swap—the chocolate replaced by plain.
(None of it felt funny anymore.)
Batman didn’t say a word.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1k39FXfkk
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tnRpAI9jY
But right now—right this second—someone understood her loneliness.
Night fell.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrta643CVU
The coffee went cold.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y3VBdWQBI
The whiteboard filled up—timelines, branches, points of deviation.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISZbNdUFQq
Batman stared at it like it was a war map.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsc7noVlbr
Brows drawn, jaw tense.
And Claire—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJASi6DyNxw
For the first time in god-knows-how-many loops—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2PeiDn0S0
wasn’t alone.
She didn’t have to whisper to herself anymore.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrhyAty3wn
Claire knew she wasn’t that smart.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSUztWZL5l
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGmLDcvBTw
Tactical terms.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1uOMfjYHd
Observation protocols.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3LziJZMQRi
Hypothesis trees.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJJqqX3UYs
Arrow-filled logic webs about time loop mechanics.
Her brain was buzzing like someone turned on a high-frequency hum in her skull.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oITn1AnLU
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhvFhbvyob
Bullet points.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfVA39TcNw
Key phrases.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgKwrMr7Vy
Color-coded charts.
Didn’t matter.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFz1hi2slmx
Once she closed her eyes—gone.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡER29086akT
Just gone.
So she had to memorize.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhXSZIQTMf
Raw memorization.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBALfS9JNY
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?”77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sbRtP6tuu
Total academic despair.
She glared at the board and forced herself to read it out loud:
- Establish a consistent, simplified daily communication method77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyObmTmxTU3
- Design self-verification protocols77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZTVn3zKLn
- Identify the rupture point in the time loop77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKmSpC0TXH
- Develop coping mechanisms for mental strain77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMei4VYH75
- Test whether sleep is the trigger for resets77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrep5LqnqC
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJvcoaXlAI
And below those?77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkW1eq0CxH
Bullet point hell.
Claire nearly burst into tears.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLayvkIbYq
Wasn’t this the kind of thing you hired Batman to do?77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcejEXqPbw
She was a bagel-slinging café owner, not a goddamn temporal physicist.
Nightwing and Robin had left around dawn.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqc5HAPR9g
She’d thought she’d feel relief.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK15c620ZHu
She didn’t.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuhGI7xhYj
She felt like a balloon blown up way past safe capacity.
And Batman? Still here.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Gpp9LJ0Vy
Sitting at her tiny desk like he owned it.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXgzeWSxRD
Folding her notes into crisp little squares like some kind of insomnia robot.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qlFW10hUy
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3eIhPjP46
Nope.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexDD3o02pT
Still here.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWWZZGU1XV
Drank her coffee.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1k2Uq3XA6
Ate a croissant.
Batman eats food.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli2L1J2Bqp
Claire noted this with bewildered internal sarcasm.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazaIecLgCP
And, somehow… it made her feel a little more human.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIfGICVLUe
A little more grounded.
Then 2 p.m. hit.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrIycDftMi
And she just—couldn’t.
Her head throbbed like someone was banging pots inside it.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPc5Kzvlz8t
A rhythmic BONG—BONG—BONG of pure pain.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu343iDQaDa
Her ears were ringing.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16JLLgTys2
Her vision was starting to blur.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZALo2EHnp
She hadn’t slept in way too long.
Even Batman’s voice faded into background noise.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC40Ukb4lWP
She could hear words, but they drifted by like waterlogged scraps of paper.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxGHdtRd67
No structure. No connection.
Her neck gave out first.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuN5DJxHOXM
Then her whole body slumped—soft and useless like an overcooked noodle.
Then she heard it.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIPLDak9Ft
A sigh.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPXrJ5XGh9
Low.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7Gj3j9TeN
Close.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaZGxG0eRf
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojBqu7tQYD
So blue. So clear.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubO7t2JJWH
Like the first star that refuses to leave the morning sky.
Nightwing, she thought.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2q7HDLykpV
But she couldn’t speak.
From somewhere nearby, Batman’s voice drifted in—calm, slow, final:
“Claire. Remember what I told you.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcKGwQ503G
Protect yourself first. Then find the truth.”
Someone laid her down.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgD4Bg7iWM
Pulled the blanket up.
The scent of sunlight-warmed fabric and stale coffee beans wrapped around her.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLndHdvKffr
Her bed was soft. So soft.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuCIkgkpU0
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7tIRQSmdf
Was there something she needed to say? Do?
Too late.
The dark caught her.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMe1Yfe5NM
Held her.
Perfectly.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtj8fsxvQC
Claire was awake. Again.
Same ceiling.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3PlyZNXje
Same sheets.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhs6Uf2vZ5z
Same sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscZ9BfaHhX
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7e7gPe9gU
No headache.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaRvjKzQ88
No nausea.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SvuWYkddW
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—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Mn18oPpOH
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIepqP78GuN
It was her memory thread.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTclfWilgiZ
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUmEZptu1e
Then she took out a pink sticky note and scribbled on it:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqva57hB5Kp
“Today’s Bagel: Plain.”
She stuck it on the glass, stepped back to check.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJTjVQYERN
It stood out.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtC9aZDG9Vl
Bright and silly. Hard to miss.
Then she frowned.
Wait—why am I even doing this?
No one else would remember.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MILlGhBTJ
Only she knew what day it was.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXv3xsRirN1
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…77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ywtdix10b
Someday, someone like her might see that note.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2XNgUSoWb
And feel something click.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZWE3i9gZD
Some resonance.
Claire snorted.
“No deadlines, infinite time. What a dream.”
Colder than her fridge.
What kind of absurd life was this?77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSTxUswnon
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJln4pzNVN
Her body tensed, that silent alertness creeping in.
Blue-eyed cop.
Batman had asked about him over and over last night—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7IIeaQaO6
What he wore.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eXH1dn9O3
His tone of voice.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRH4wZhNYGk
Which hand he used to take out his wallet.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJs4aGsbrI
What angle he walked in from.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEdMkR3JbQ
How long he looked at the counter.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKtiYQfpEC
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkiKzuf7VM
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhN1ki3Qg2
Like it was baked into the script of the day.
Claire’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHO85CxY1xO
9:59.
The door pushed open.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhF3BpX4OvY
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?77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoShud3PUF2
Or are you just another poor guy trying to buy breakfast?
God, she wanted him to be different.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzxW1SAwj7
Even five minutes late would’ve been something.
But nope.
Right on time.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJzD8GIiJg
Said the exact same line.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrelSAcXxO
Paid with the same bills.
Claire considered doing a little test.
A spark lit in her head: Batman.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBqm5W2VhU
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uU0q21Jl6
You don’t just ask a random cop, “Hey, do you know Batman?”77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkPQvInHsC
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVm810jR49D
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmauedvXsS
Surely it would hit something.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX77q0qJLLD
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Aq2YFlnZ5
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtsCgFgv00
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1JsHyNBuB
Day 10. Blue-Eyed Officer.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoJJVxz3uo
No noticeable deviations.
But hey—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9QbjbF4mT
At least she tried.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bCYnso0Tb
and then Add to home screen.