Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jwtRYn0V1
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.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlREk2vuI5
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9YH2tnxXx
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVob4dURRo
“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.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHuFNRtXdG
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGxQfJkJgo
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFPOAFjlm4
I’m a good citizen.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvFSu1SLTY
Really.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrF0LyqOWy
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.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehpZ3gVnER
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQqzCQgI6a
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.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8q6YBYWI1
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysdE2mGe9L
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEeGjolEZZ
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeYpVsabFA
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDjs9NEHm0
Firm, steady. Familiar.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8ZjZpGhUe
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.
46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tLIPvaXvy
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:46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOQUOvqjeb
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.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSWXokKIGA
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.—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJ3OMLUGGh
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjuL6H6mUa
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjceW4uT4Sb
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLyN5tlioQ
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:46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSpWcNsNIX
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?46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3xEPw795O
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRS4YrAreM
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPyPmjs2fq
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgk5dqd95Re
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.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItj3DvrVGg
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…46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiqsscmtgE
Was the light in his eyes.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd60XwX0OUr
and then Add to home screen.