Claire froze.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdz2dLyIgE4
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdfflxNmYk
The warmth of the soup she’d just had in the kitchen surged back up, stopped at her throat like it had second thoughts.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC22A5AvZkt
The warmth was gone.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINnlWy23qs
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIhlL1v4c0
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV50iie2JCT
No one exchanged that “okay, she’s crazy” look.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgtCPTHx80
No one told her to calm down.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPATEy89QVo
No one gave her the “we’re just humoring you” smile.
There was no ridicule.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B3NRAP8Ey
No patronizing sympathy.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59KRUw9lN4
Not even a subject change.
Instead—Batman looked like someone who had just found a missing puzzle piece.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLsVecfWHd
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOj6GiQm68
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:67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XKACojsqI
Suspicion.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGckn0lD1AA
Anxiety.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0a6Ynp2l6
But more than anything—alertness.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9s4GzZ1gJr
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DHCBUJRaZ
Even the wind seemed to hesitate.
It wasn’t a theory.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjys21prEO4
It was a warning.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmHyWC706h
We can’t let her face this alone.
Claire said nothing.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsJEyREGMG
She wasn’t sure she could.
Her lips felt sealed shut.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHYco0emgu
Her throat was full of ice.
Then it hit her.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5bNparLPq
That in front of these people—saying there was a rift in the sky wasn’t delusion.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldlJCuTIYD
It was… the start of an investigation.
This wasn’t a hallucination.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡds2QOj7iJ4
It was a threat assessment.
And that terrified her more.
Because if they were taking it seriously—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvJMnEdUkg
It meant the thing she saw might really exist.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrj0nczzgW
Not just in her head.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6e35nW1jB
But somewhere, out there.
Batman looked up, his gaze heavy as iron.
“Claire,” he said, his voice firm and final,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1KNOKPBrv
“I’m taking you to the safe house.”
There was no room for discussion.
“You’ll need something to protect yourself.”
Not maybe.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyAg32M2tm
Not if.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YFoVEWmjJ
But definitely.
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7yPmX3lAK
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2Y8HkY0E3
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMb9ufkuAr
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRQKrMPpyb
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMv11qEuFb0
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UgJy7cdPP
No couch.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMvcBm5H82
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIUf2UlZpD
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—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBainG2WhE
Click.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEc3HRRJpQc
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrX4sqJfrQX
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3vnUQGjwS
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClYTzN3wka
It was an underground command center.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtmMJEf2lR
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41v3GFAAQr
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6sFxojy8w
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxDfJi0VLP
“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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn248hMm31i
Didn’t need to.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvIEdA01x5
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEf0npW5lQ
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUurZFqvT2o
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6L1tuUyDB8
Win.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDnk0XMMWc
Over and over.
Until that one race—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3TYI1B42j
The one her knee didn’t survive.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDRe819u17
She never crossed the finish line.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4ZgnYXgWj
But that race ended more than just the competition.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1hdwyccOf
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuIldEQgWy
Wind slicing past her ears.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccXpUfjy2o
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGo0OkJrcJ
The weightlessness.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMl0FHZeYKm
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvqVDInGJK
A ghost of someone she used to be.
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdJXUMvR0Y
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjQTDwFNsk
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpPWBNsBxn
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cOUBCjLkg
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8pMQMGJ9m
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAxxhBP0SB
No couch.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zAWPeZbRp
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhjqNK5RIW
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—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5HGV7el9i
Click.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CFKJkeArm
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXBvbOSMMa
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCogTODvfpi
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89HKb7wfQB
It was an underground command center.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7kCNGL483
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlA8ZCFDwb
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUgi9r9rEV
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gmkwboYaI
“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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdC4IbOgOo
Didn’t need to.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufju05Croq
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFFT1z8QLr
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMV8x7Dgf9Z
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtVJVhCx7F
Win.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyk5J28CuWY
Over and over.
Until that one race—67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9d8BiQWEx
The one her knee didn’t survive.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtBq17Wvfx
She never crossed the finish line.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5Eln6Bhe8
But that race ended more than just the competition.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWTkHAV0nP
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlA773VGrTy
Wind slicing past her ears.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPERQuv1oL
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVVr6xcahz
The weightlessness.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMfP9tBwUc
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjuwbezJ0K
A ghost of someone she used to be.
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQntiNy5XwZ
Batman sat down at the console, his long cape fanning out over the back of the chair.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KjPgcSaV6
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzIKwAQbbr
Was this really not some kind of secret weapons cache?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13PWICxJhs
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxszoEuNPj
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUkXHYc6T9
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe097TvESCV
He blinked slightly as he spotted her standing in the corner.
“Sir… and this is?”
Batman didn’t look up. Still typing, still focused.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfggn2a2wXe
But he answered steadily.
“This is Claire.”
Then, finally, he turned his head.
“Claire, explain yourself.”
Claire blinked.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kOpj5KMiK
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjouw4RwjiS
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGrbBiI8oM
And tonight, I saw something in the sky.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGc38zpWAS6
Like a crack. A rip.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnSMPASwsS
Only I can see it. No one else can. But I know it’s there.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYSqIWdszm
Because I can still see it even when I close my eyes.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3nDp0zRaT
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AfBv7Bkn6
He simply gave a small, understanding nod.
Claire blinked again.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjw0QCWPEy
She realized she’d been bracing for something—skepticism, sarcasm, at least a raised eyebrow.
But nothing came.
Silence settled around her.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1jp0NGq9H
Just the soft mechanical hum of the monitors at the edge of the room.
Well.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahX5iGHsNF
That was the third time.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiq1Ha6dZf
Story delivered.
Can someone get me a glass of water now?67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobR267ugfn
