Claire froze.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDDXNqvTOb
A chill ran down her spine, as if someone had quietly pushed her into a pool of ice water. Her shoulders tensed. Her fingers trembled, just slightly.
“The rift is watching her.”
That sentence stabbed into her mind like a pin.
Not she was looking at it, but that… thing—whatever it was—was staring back.
Her stomach twisted.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37q3JZXsH9
The warmth of the soup she’d just had in the kitchen surged back up, stopped at her throat like it had second thoughts.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzNOswG977
The warmth was gone.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4P7Cg1IM9U
All that remained was an indescribable cold.
She had suspected it for a while now—that the rift didn’t just “appear” to her.
It let her see it.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyGG4YOwuX
Like something pointing her out from a crowd and saying, you—look this way.
She swallowed, trying to stay calm.
But what caught her off guard… was that none of the three men denied what she said.
No one laughed.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HtayMi0MV
No one exchanged that “okay, she’s crazy” look.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdur9g1WoYo
No one told her to calm down.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1fQuNw8Fi
No one gave her the “we’re just humoring you” smile.
There was no ridicule.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLd81TDR49k
No patronizing sympathy.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTpFMxVCPf
Not even a subject change.
Instead—Batman looked like someone who had just found a missing puzzle piece.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtRk973mAp
His eyes stayed fixed on the rift she’d drawn, brows furrowed deep—like a question that had haunted him for a long time was finally starting to make sense.
Nightwing sat beside her, a hand resting on one knee, his body slightly leaning forward.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡforqKxLaiu
He looked like he was holding himself back—not from disbelief, but from the urge to tell her, “This can’t be real,” just to keep her sane. But he didn’t say it.
His posture said enough:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLphUpEi6Z
Suspicion.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqMc8L3t1X
Anxiety.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDEMoXbbjb
But more than anything—alertness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb52AvmLKna
Not toward her, but toward the possibility of something too dangerous to name.
Robin, meanwhile, had a hand to his chin, brows furrowed so tightly they looked carved in stone. He seemed stuck—trying to reconstruct something in his mind. Like some incomplete signal had lodged itself there, and he couldn’t decode it.
“If the rift is watching her,” Robin finally said, “does that mean it’ll come looking for her?”
The words dropped heavy.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuR3yihWKBT
Even the wind seemed to hesitate.
It wasn’t a theory.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJYbSWRyFJ
It was a warning.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmsqR2an8v
We can’t let her face this alone.
Claire said nothing.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEsaYneTNL
She wasn’t sure she could.
Her lips felt sealed shut.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaWoigogP9
Her throat was full of ice.
Then it hit her.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8manMBPHDa
That in front of these people—saying there was a rift in the sky wasn’t delusion.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwMJZYzWYu
It was… the start of an investigation.
This wasn’t a hallucination.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvv6dZbYlKV
It was a threat assessment.
And that terrified her more.
Because if they were taking it seriously—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9Wq0CBgbP
It meant the thing she saw might really exist.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUN5w9KCD4
Not just in her head.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvn8e3JWBqa
But somewhere, out there.
Batman looked up, his gaze heavy as iron.
“Claire,” he said, his voice firm and final,41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10WJLrp5LV
“I’m taking you to the safe house.”
There was no room for discussion.
“You’ll need something to protect yourself.”
Not maybe.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmM9SRY7YB
Not if.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrOZKugo3M
But definitely.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hOPxccVJc
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84kizOVJfg
You know—underground vault, biometric scans, a hidden elevator behind a sliding bookshelf. That kind of thing.
Because come on. It’s Batman. A little drama wouldn’t hurt.
But no. It was a regular apartment.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡax43jIvyxy
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhc1PBTxS49
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nDZEnluS9
Claire frowned and followed the three men inside.
When all four of them squeezed into what looked like a barely furnished studio, her first reaction was:
“Wow. Depressing.”
White walls. Wooden floor. Two chairs, one table.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnT863hwe9
No couch.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHuHnwcQxE
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QBcnJdvA0
This was a rental someone never bothered to decorate because they knew the rent was highway robbery.
Before she could finish the mental roast, Batman walked to the wall, reached for a light fixture—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdN3zrNABW
Click.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduvMBWS9VB
A hidden door slid open, revealing a short staircase going down.
No dramatic music. No warning. Just—there.
Claire instinctively took a step back. Her heartbeat skipped.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpcHhdYhcK
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpFmvx8y0D
She was last. Eyes darting left and right like she’d stepped into sacred ground.
Then her foot touched the first step, and the world opened up.
Her eyes widened.
It wasn’t a damp basement.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOzMIo37gh
It was an underground command center.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqxTBK8OUU
High ceiling. Cold air. Monitors everywhere, blinking with graphs, maps, and strings of data that looked like alien stock reports.
Weapons lined the walls—some shaped like bat wings, others like mechanical scorpion tails.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3yXWxD1VG
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPT8jyLJPs
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCJRw0buo7
“Definitely funded. Like, no-one’s-asking-for-receipts funded.”
One phrase popped into her mind—weaponized wealth.
Where did vigilantes get their money?
She used to think they were all about justice and grit, powered by passion and determination.
Now it felt more like… WayneTech’s unauthorized tech demo.
She muttered under her breath,
“So Bruce Wayne really is the sponsor. That tracks…”
She didn’t finish the thought.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZkZJjz9aL
Didn’t need to.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSC1IK9Jekr
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXED2oXyyw
her college years, back when she was on a full scholarship from the Wayne Foundation.
Every semester, like clockwork, a generous sum landed in her account.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5ufNE1sDN
Big enough that her friends from other departments would whisper things like, “Are you in some kind of secret athletic program?”
All she had to do was run.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7VuE2iVlc
Win.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5Nf63VEc4
Over and over.
Until that one race—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa08jQ8t5z5
The one her knee didn’t survive.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2LE3Gybhk
She never crossed the finish line.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pJNMn49Z0
But that race ended more than just the competition.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yjJbwDt8f
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TQgxpniL0
Wind slicing past her ears.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6mJrirVz1
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvINA893z6
The weightlessness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBne43vP4Ow
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9I6QDIRsAE
A ghost of someone she used to be.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLtzsgAAbR
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PfjJ4cBbo
You know—underground vault, biometric scans, a hidden elevator behind a sliding bookshelf. That kind of thing.
Because come on. It’s Batman. A little drama wouldn’t hurt.
But no. It was a regular apartment.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0U1TDMpMct
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rB65OZCt6
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHF9COXeW0T
Claire frowned and followed the three men inside.
When all four of them squeezed into what looked like a barely furnished studio, her first reaction was:
“Wow. Depressing.”
White walls. Wooden floor. Two chairs, one table.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGbtR6jwQO
No couch.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGx19cARo30
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyQIVIaal4
This was a rental someone never bothered to decorate because they knew the rent was highway robbery.
Before she could finish the mental roast, Batman walked to the wall, reached for a light fixture—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbfnMWMO4g
Click.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCz4zUEIGQC
A hidden door slid open, revealing a short staircase going down.
No dramatic music. No warning. Just—there.
Claire instinctively took a step back. Her heartbeat skipped.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKM394S5wsf
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIqq0m8kYL
She was last. Eyes darting left and right like she’d stepped into sacred ground.
Then her foot touched the first step, and the world opened up.
Her eyes widened.
It wasn’t a damp basement.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDe8K9CGT7e
It was an underground command center.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxj7gZwUwc
High ceiling. Cold air. Monitors everywhere, blinking with graphs, maps, and strings of data that looked like alien stock reports.
Weapons lined the walls—some shaped like bat wings, others like mechanical scorpion tails.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4ObRRjvz3
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlP1qAl2Ub
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3fOkpbyxO
“Definitely funded. Like, no-one’s-asking-for-receipts funded.”
One phrase popped into her mind—weaponized wealth.
Where did vigilantes get their money?
She used to think they were all about justice and grit, powered by passion and determination.
Now it felt more like… WayneTech’s unauthorized tech demo.
She muttered under her breath,
“So Bruce Wayne really is the sponsor. That tracks…”
She didn’t finish the thought.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg13HNhoIym
Didn’t need to.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdbmc5vHRG
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eKYppeXdA
her college years, back when she was on a full scholarship from the Wayne Foundation.
Every semester, like clockwork, a generous sum landed in her account.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonN2C4qx2q
Big enough that her friends from other departments would whisper things like, “Are you in some kind of secret athletic program?”
All she had to do was run.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdf2FwyG69
Win.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYTrzoIkj1
Over and over.
Until that one race—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4HmYTf0Oy
The one her knee didn’t survive.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CXTo7tQXm
She never crossed the finish line.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSqEquGkpB
But that race ended more than just the competition.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeH68uYu7U4
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKElXOUBQr
Wind slicing past her ears.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKuNLvDiTY
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmommjmVA0
The weightlessness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv13yu2FoGa
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnza4ekLlF
A ghost of someone she used to be.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJwPw2PYOl
Batman sat down at the console, his long cape fanning out over the back of the chair.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYYoH0xzXI
His fingers moved fast—sharp, precise, mechanical. One by one, the monitors lit up, as if some dormant beast had just awakened, stretching its limbs with a low digital growl.
Claire lagged a few steps behind.
She stood there, eyes scanning the room.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7QR1PYP2S
Was this really not some kind of secret weapons cache?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ323U6Bf2LK
Because honestly, it was giving serious classified-military-facility energy.
Metal-panel walls. Harsh fluorescent lighting. Devices whose functions she couldn’t begin to guess.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmU7UhS72s
There was even something that looked suspiciously like an operating table—which she immediately looked away from, because nope. No thanks. No curiosity here.
She was just about to poke at a black storage case labeled with a large “F”, when a voice—British, older, calm but gently concerned—spoke from the monitor.
“Sir, have you located Robin?”
Claire’s head snapped up.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThheJrF3hO
On screen was a sharply dressed older man in a suit that looked like it belonged in a vintage London magazine. A row of gleaming silver teapots lined the shelves behind him.
His eyes swept the screen—then paused.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMb7kAAgroB
He blinked slightly as he spotted her standing in the corner.
“Sir… and this is?”
Batman didn’t look up. Still typing, still focused.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YxLxfACs7
But he answered steadily.
“This is Claire.”
Then, finally, he turned his head.
“Claire, explain yourself.”
Claire blinked.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tC6Q5mxQ3
Here we go again.
Was he training her public speaking, or just too lazy to do the intro?
She inhaled, dug her nails into her palm, and willed herself into composure.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1A6QffB5l7
She’d already told this story twice—once to Nightwing and Robin, then again to Batman himself. But the third time? Still sucked.
She cleared her throat.
“I’m Claire. I’ve been… stuck repeating the same day.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9KziXQLPW
And tonight, I saw something in the sky.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPhDVB0MlC
Like a crack. A rip.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULR51XBQ7g
Only I can see it. No one else can. But I know it’s there.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9vb9xiTCt
Because I can still see it even when I close my eyes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGa35XyaUR
It’s not a hallucination.”
Her voice was steady—maybe a bit too fast—but it held.
The man on the screen didn’t flinch. Didn’t smirk. Didn’t doubt.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7imnQ1f5aB
He simply gave a small, understanding nod.
Claire blinked again.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsSbKQoIx7
She realized she’d been bracing for something—skepticism, sarcasm, at least a raised eyebrow.
But nothing came.
Silence settled around her.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLe622EGd8t
Just the soft mechanical hum of the monitors at the edge of the room.
Well.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7PQe3GoXe
That was the third time.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvzn4pwl0i
Story delivered.
Can someone get me a glass of water now?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZb5w46v1fi
and then Add to home screen.