In Dick’s mind, only one sentence was now echoing in absolute chaos:
Robin is actually in Blüdhaven?! Why?!
He tried to stay calm, racking his brain for any reasonable explanation—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJRYvAj6wI
Was it a mission? Emergency backup?14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBC78KosdA
A covert operation arranged by Batman?14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdm2cWJbMo
But none of these scenarios had anything to do with… a casual dinner date.
Claire didn’t bother checking his expression,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOkrBpG2co
nor did she turn to confirm if he was still following along.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL909o0zZpe
She simply raised her right hand, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgiT91GnFZ
then brought it to her lips—
FWEEEEEEEET—!
A loud, piercing whistle cut through the quiet evening.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRN0syKXMz
Fortunately, there weren’t many people around.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDAcRVYhVB
The few passersby only glanced over before quickly averting their eyes.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7baVtO2l4
This was Blüdhaven—minding your own business was the only way to survive.
But—Robin heard it.
He was just swinging across the rooftop on the opposite side of the street when the sound reached him.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKr6Usj1nN2
He turned immediately.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgF4ZqrvLWQ
From where the whistle came, he spotted a familiar silhouette standing next to a woman he didn’t recognize.
He didn’t hesitate.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGPU7OXzcs
His grappling line shot out again.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQRnIL6YAx
He twisted mid-air, soared across the gap, and landed with precision—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFLcOXnRaJ
as if he’d practiced that exact landing a hundred times.
And when he landed in front of Claire and Dick—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRHTB64CI8
there was a pause.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3X3augXfs
The three of them stood there, wrapped in a silence so heavy, it felt like someone had hit the pause button on reality.
Dick didn’t know what to say first.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8wW4jlGSl
Robin didn’t know what to say first either.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtzK5Xcybb
Claire simply stood there watching the two of them, curious to see if either would break the silence.
This wasn’t some random encounter.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkqXPheEJI
This was Claire’s doing.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKpqapR1vC
She wanted to see exactly what kind of relationship this “informant” had with the Bat family.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bCPojzcd0
She needed a controlled experiment.
The three of them looked at one another—eye contact full of signals,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFhLW3XP4r
but still not a single word.
Dick’s gaze shifted first.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBrSQSlWEn
He quickly flashed a look at Robin, trying to convey:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH99nAK7bsZ
“Why the hell are you here?”
Then he immediately followed up with a second, more urgent expression:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqToVOCElu
“I’m just plain ol’ Dick Grayson right now. Don’t blow my cover.”
Robin, on the other hand, eyed the pair with mild suspicion.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLEFvkB85P
The girl was clearly dressed up.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhTHlzd3Oa
The guy looked relaxed but well put-together.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDuUkjozRz
They were walking together down the street—
Wait… is this a date?14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6Ts0JjsP2
Did I just interrupt a date?
But if it’s a date, why did the girl call him here?
Claire watched them continue their silent exchange,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVvzPVfaKK
and then shrugged—like she’d already seen through everything,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡog8CTUd3f6
and had no intention of letting this awkward silence drag on.
She stepped forward, her voice clear and calm, instantly snapping both men’s attention back to her.
“Do you two know each other?”
Both of them shook their heads at the same time.
Identical motions.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhv8IW62YY
So fake it was almost insulting.
Claire raised an eyebrow, giving them a subtle “you expect me to believe that?” smile.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKma8cgr1V
But her tone remained utterly composed:
“Is that so?”
Without waiting for their answer,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsxIIZNNyU
she calmly lifted her hand and pointed to Dick:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwRJWkcrfg
“This is Officer Dick Grayson.”
Then she pointed at Robin:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7NlgUfxdg
“This is Robin.”
Finally, she pointed at herself:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWDkHvuS7U
“I’m Claire.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciPICFbelx
Nice to meet you both.”
Her tone was pleasant, her smile faint,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMpmWk5hH6
as if she were hosting the most polite and bizarre matchmaking event in Blüdhaven history.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFMXzD2dSp
Three people—familiar yet unfamiliar—stood together on the streets of Blüdhaven.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydafPBb4hc
A cold wind blew past, lifting the corner of a newspaper by a trash can, sending it fluttering briefly before it dropped back down in the dark.
Claire’s introductions had ended like a sterile handoff in a lab—cold, but undeniably effective.
After introducing herself, she promptly announced,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7v6fLof0r
“Alright, let’s go eat.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7IS3W6QBY
Then she turned around as if this gathering was nothing more than a dinner reservation she'd made in advance.
If Dick hadn’t been here—Robin swore—he definitely would’ve declined.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡentdeVT0A4
Seriously.
Even if this woman was suspicious,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yu0j3LKKI
even if she somehow knew his name,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3e4mkEDTvL
he could’ve come up with a hundred reasons to walk away.
But the problem was—he had too many questions.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7BGAqwE6c
And the source of those questions was standing right in front of him.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTEa6VcOEz
His name: Dick Grayson.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcZM3S4kEk
Current status: “normal police officer,”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz3q7HVHfE
currently on a date with this mysterious woman.
Now he had to pretend not to know Dick…14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs02IUkdpUB
and join Dick’s date.
What the hell kind of scenario is this?
He glanced sideways at Dick, his expression crystal clear:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVJs07W9WL
“Bro. What are you doing?”
Dick was already looking at him—his face pale as chalk.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaBhw3jyEu
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Walking beside Claire, Dick had completely lost his grasp on logic.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6N77oWudbB
His brain felt like it had been stuffed with bagels—twelve of them—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaCAgRJJrH
jammed in all at once, and not a single one swallowed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpviXsfj8T
Too many questions, too many contradictions, too many puzzle pieces with no edges.
And now he had to pretend he didn’t know Robin.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc30liTOoIH
And the three of them were going to dinner.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqJxkz60qu
Together.
What kind of bizarre combination is this?
If Batman found out, he might just blow up the kitchen in the Batcave.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqpnABQAff
Was this a leak in their intel network… or some kind of multiverse misalignment?
So—did Robin know Claire?14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76jLtLggHo
The thought suddenly popped into Dick’s head.
He deliberately let his arm fall to his side, slowed his pace slightly to trail behind a step,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkan3Qu7a9f
then subtly pointed a finger at Claire, silently asking,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIr3weojC1Y
“Do you know her?”
Robin shook his head.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaOje23V1Q
Clean, crisp, and absolute.
Dick let out a small breath of relief.
Great. He doesn’t know her.
Which meant—now the questions became:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiP1MhVhUB
How did she contact Robin?14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT559ojlLxg
Why did she invite him to dinner?14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38Z3o61mg4
And why drag Dick into it too?
Even more absurd—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnnyCWUiBw
two out of the three people here knew each other,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaiW4hh6fd
but had to pretend they didn’t,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfwbqpvWfp
all while being herded together by the third person…14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJHBzjheAV
for dinner.
The two brothers silently watched the woman walking steadily ahead of them—Claire.
One thought passed between them:14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcPo3QTfrx
This dinner... there are going to be questions.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡji8SEoFrTQ
