Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxO68d6Pf2M
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bbI2WYsl1
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduofHhban2
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RdPPhOglc
“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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExPNcgabVy
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlCyibiqY6
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UUKOhReD4
I’m a good citizen.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7UxP5Vdyz
Really.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxH0RuoVZD
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFUAGArPep
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JTDqPY9WN
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqmpO14BCV
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuXioYnc7a
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGojoi5vUk
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTY1D08RoAG
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgMTVKyJId
Firm, steady. Familiar.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDTb6TeIEC
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.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYoh0ts6I9
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:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR17o62sUIn
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfywzK3Pbm8
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.—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxl57bma0l
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSg5YWGt7h
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2Zw1Jn6lQ
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvZpApjXI3
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:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ur5gwqwi9
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?77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvIQNIeegg
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNBy1dzcAr
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAs9VKf3a1
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYTJvpoHkU
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPTADQC02a
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…77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeTD5Cgxkk
Was the light in his eyes.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj70AcvM7fr
