Tim didn’t want to sleep. He was already on his third cup of coffee tonight.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRyrXS6d2c
His movements were mechanical, void of emotion, as he brought the rim of the cup to his lips. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, bringing no sense of alertness—only a faint ache in his stomach. He knew this wasn’t helping, but he’d rather suffer stomach pain than close his eyes.
Batman had already finished his patrol. Everyone else had gone to rest.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0y9Ww0VRQ
The Batcave felt like it had been swallowed by the night. Only the warning lights flickered occasionally, casting flashes of red into the dark. The computer screen glowed faint blue, illuminating Tim’s face in a pale hue. Somewhere upstairs, Alfred probably still had a lamp on—but that had nothing to do with him. At this moment, he was the only one awake.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ738vzBeDAr
The only one sitting quietly in the cave, eyes fixed on the screen.
His gaze was focused. His fingers tapped the keyboard now and then, producing a steady rhythm. Lines of data and images flickered on the screen. He forced himself to keep reading. Don’t stop.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKANeLvSd6
Because the moment he stopped, he would start remembering.
He was doing everything he could to fill the silence.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwAWuJWryx
Data analysis, checking the armory, organizing mission logs—any trivial task that could keep his mind from drifting to that scene.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZHRmqiy46
He told himself it was rational. Discipline. Necessary prep work.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVANKjLp54z
But he knew those were just excuses.
Because the moment he closed his eyes, the memory would return—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitfsHCXEM0
That moment, burned into his brain like a brand. Impossible to shake.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvSEPfEVOn
Nora, collapsing to the ground. And him, utterly powerless.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlTMq5klr9
That day, he still believed he was always prepared. Flawless.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6Gy3efJ5G
And yet, he couldn’t even save the one person who mattered most.
He once thought himself the calmest among them. Now, he couldn’t even finish blaming himself.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnkcqwMmyJ
Even after receiving the gift meant for Damian—sent from ten thousand years ago—a relic from a long-lost civilization, like time itself was mocking him, delivering hope from the ancient past... and all he could do now was wait.
Tim had been shocked. And suspicious.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOmET1RXps
How could something this absurd be so perfectly timed?106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gKDGUTzP1
And yet, he believed.
Then came the message from the Federation’s Supreme Leader.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkSxuJklw8
A sincere voice saying:106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSIABfsREU
“Tim, don’t worry. Nora has gone back. It won’t be long.”106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8MyzCoujw
“She won’t end here.”
But Tim couldn’t fully trust it. He no longer dared to believe. Belief was fragile. It shattered too easily.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aWmPqVQZn
He knew she would come back—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDuGXAUfJi
Logically, the evidence was there. She was still alive. Just “asleep.”106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPk48T1Oqs
But emotionally, he was still trapped in that moment—trapped in the image of her falling.
She hadn’t come back yet. She hadn’t spoken. She hadn’t opened her eyes.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjDia9jOI7
How could he be at peace?
He wasn’t.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfeI9RCtL2
The closer he got to the edge of hope, the more terrified he became that it was all a mirage.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpF18rzkrn
He didn’t know whether he was waiting for her to wake up—or for himself to fall apart.
She still lay in the cryo-chamber. A sleeping beauty.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihAwewPKW2
Too silent.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBeMUiZLFn
Like some perfect specimen. Lifeless, yet beautiful.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEgPxtIxux
He hated himself for the thought—but he couldn’t deny that, in one brief moment, he’d imagined how she might look if she opened her eyes.
He had even leaned down once, staring at her—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2MZqQdRw9
If I kissed her… would she wake up?106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQwV30JsZy
The idea was ridiculous. Stupid. But painfully real.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCyyRaZ4bp
He had actually bent closer.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQVuTdksJi
And when he saw the frost on her eyelashes, it was like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyz53d1x2h
He pulled away.
He had never hated fairy tales so much.
Tim stared at a crime report, forcing himself to analyze.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQarEvnEyQA
He yanked his focus back to reality. Cold data blinked on the screen.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQBjqjkmPh
He used logic like a shield—statements, evaluations, numbers—all to build a wall against memory and feeling.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUrFc6yqpY
Just as he began typing his first tactical summary—
“Beep—”
A sudden sound.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2yuxOGDrq
Not an alarm. But not just background noise either.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PSO1UM5mV
He froze, tension snapping through him.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZtSdTBjhH
In the stillness of the Batcave, any sound was jarring.
Tim turned, trying to locate the source.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bBykgvXP9
He thought maybe someone left a communicator behind—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZTSYqqbSL
It wouldn’t be the first time. Jason’s. Damian’s. Even Barbara’s had gone off before.
But this sound...106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudSdP5rL2M
106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ClIPuW6zG
He shot up instantly.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48ypVhVrwb
Then stopped himself—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYgnJb0zg8
Don’t get your hopes up.
His breath grew uneven.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsO2d8PvFNY
Somewhere deep inside, a tiny ember flickered.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzzK5cjD6d
He clenched his fists, muttering to himself, “Calm down, Tim.”106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoApI8il2IL
This wasn’t a miracle.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0b8IeSQiiY
Maybe it was just a malfunction.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKATDraMGR
He forced the thought away. Don’t hope.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjGmJSAbBb
Hope was dangerous. The crash of disappointment was unbearable.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbE1eahRzl
It had happened too many times. One more might shatter him completely.
Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked toward the sound.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7MqkLCNOg
Tim headed toward the corner he often visited—where he sometimes just… sat.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYkw55iwZU
His footsteps echoed faintly.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xj9vkenxl
He didn’t dare run. Running meant expectation.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qNTTE769u
And expectation was a trap.
That was where the cryo-chamber was.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJjl2du2rg
Each step felt like he was walking over memories.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqTRzozrW2
He knew this place too well.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0xaRnZ8B9
He had kept watch here, spent nights here, even nodded off against the wall.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatn31ZiUfZ
This room was like an altar.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCT9e5khII
And he was its only mourner.
He stepped in.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBS9cmuXRX
And immediately sensed something was different.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJsFSoyshB
Something in the air had shifted.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLePdUTyG4Y
Like still water suddenly rippled.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCohBma1jT4
Only he would notice.
The monitors connected to Nora’s vitals had changed.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PkBwobooO
He held his breath.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNSEPw7Prh
Eyes darting to the screen.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5U19p4CpaK
He didn’t dare blink.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DaeVnbL9q
Not even for 0.1 seconds.
There it was.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwVMttHZSD
Heart rate. Pulse.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vgswbPVQW
Slow.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmZ0PRpd4l
Faint.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatc4RI8T4i
But real.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcBOIekPua
Not a glitch.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGsihhfcRY
Not a playback.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaYNdfmT3p
New.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WdqKaOmOC
Alive.
The machine began to beep—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfV2U44YBMx
Beep, beep, beep—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmkCjMGrBX
Following the rhythm of her pulse.
In the silence of night, it was the only sound.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpy88bsEI9
Tim stood frozen.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNaqeGMsWx
His whole body tense.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sAcp3pn7U
Lips trembling.
For the first time—he thought that sound was beautiful.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIFIQfrxEw
106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtXYzpDRsp
It was hope.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPelKGwqJcP
It was her heartbeat.
106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVD5YkxlOr8
and then Add to home screen.