For the first time, Claire didn’t open the café.
No scent of coffee wafted from her window,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qZBU4PE9Y
No familiar whir from the bagel press.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFY9v5S0Sc9
Instead, her hands—usually busy kneading dough by sunrise—were holding a marker,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzOjdawlgU
Drawing arrows across a whiteboard like she was about to teach a conspiracy seminar.
She hadn’t slept. Not a minute.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2kI1PRNDA
Because Batman had said:157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvE5D8KyqdA
“Don’t sleep.”
He’d said it calmly—too calmly.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZni4PJhhp
But the words had made her scalp tighten.
“If you fall asleep, the loop resets.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatpqPxgyBb
What we need tonight is continuity. Not broken memories trapped in the same repeating day.”
“You said everything stays the same every time you wake up.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ257z4D3DuQ
Then that means anything that changes—happens while you're still awake.”
Claire had wanted to push back—“Why does it matter? You’ll forget everything anyway.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzyKNfU9eL
But Batman shook his head, speaking slowly, deliberately:
“You need analysis.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjxYzFlAiF
You need to practice recounting your data.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMd33Qpnm5
I’ll leave a way to contact me.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSGgjBlfmm
But you can’t start from the beginning every time.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKG9tNybQm
You’ll need to find a way to tell the future-me everything—precisely—and what to do next.”
Claire had just… stared at him.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBmpPJeWA7
Because for the first time, someone wasn’t saying she was crazy.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16K6v3Z6Ku
He was listening.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyFqjGghKu
He was thinking.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLHRLvI648
He was—Batman.
And being a Gotham native, she felt this absurd, unexpected comfort rise up in her chest:
“At least it’s Batman.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2w9M6o2Mg9
If anyone could break the loop, it’d be him.
So she got to work.
Dragged the giant whiteboard her aunt had for some reason left behind from the second floor to the third.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPh1Hy3VnAh
It was the kind of thing you see in old cram schools—half cracked, fully inconvenient.
Nightwing offered to help.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcRrkheXrQ
They squeezed it up the stairs together, getting stuck at the landing for a moment.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrpbrZpVYJ
He gave her a small glance and asked, voice quiet,157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxrGiXoB9S
“You holding up?”
Claire was not.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp41i48kzwm
Her arms were shaking.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhb4M4W0ami
Her eyes were dry.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHc72QeXoc
She felt like she’d downed three energy drinks and was vibrating slightly off-axis.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5f4sDiD6G3
But she still smiled and replied:157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rTx2qZc5f
“I’m good.”
It was a lie for herself.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfb95QVtzK
To remember she still could smile. Still could move forward.
Back upstairs, she brewed three coffees and a milk.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqEL2boa3t
Nightwing took his with a polite nod.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lA9UIfGLx
Robin sniffed the milk, made a face, and set it down.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9p4HoS8n0
Batman didn’t touch his cup.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5RKrDPKCd
He was already focused on the board.
“Let’s start. When did you first notice something was off?”
Claire stood in front of the board.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPUqB3s8RG
The marker hovered just above its surface.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRMu2r0bh6
That’s when she realized—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsIWhVSrjo
Her so-called "clues" were embarrassingly few.
“Uh... at first, nothing big. Thought I was just misremembering stuff,”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iTyFDb2Ku
“Then I noticed everything was the same. Every single thing. That’s when I started keeping track.”
She told them about the first time Robin knocked on the hotel window.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeinZHD62IW
About Nightwing showing up on her balcony like clockwork.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF88C9qIRmZ
About the cursed bagel swap—the chocolate replaced by plain.
(None of it felt funny anymore.)
Batman didn’t say a word.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJDjowraWK
He stood, back straight, listening.
After each section, he reached for the marker and jotted a few lines on the board.
She didn’t know if he’d remember any of it.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDSZ1Jn76a
But right now—right this second—someone understood her loneliness.
Night fell.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIa6wiJJPs
The coffee went cold.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFrgurybe3
The whiteboard filled up—timelines, branches, points of deviation.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWBQ2RP1l5
Batman stared at it like it was a war map.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbWrmEJSbn
Brows drawn, jaw tense.
And Claire—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTaDAvurAP
For the first time in god-knows-how-many loops—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXDBXRqV26
wasn’t alone.
She didn’t have to whisper to herself anymore.
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO627VKNgW8
Claire knew she wasn’t that smart.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RPw2TLWy1
No, really.
She stood in front of the giant whiteboard—originally used for notes like “Trash on Tuesday” or “Stop buying potatoes”—now filled to the edges with Batman’s handwriting.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwwoEMV8ts
Tactical terms.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pxsc4CMvI
Observation protocols.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OSI7Kh9BW
Hypothesis trees.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdM0Wv1Mzr
Arrow-filled logic webs about time loop mechanics.
Her brain was buzzing like someone turned on a high-frequency hum in her skull.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTc32gk67Dk
She could read every word. But when put together, it felt like looking at someone else’s math homework—technically correct, completely unreadable.
Batman had even written her a memory guide.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACk7yb7T0V
Bullet points.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2bsoiDEE0
Key phrases.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2O946lUILW
Color-coded charts.
Didn’t matter.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLhpvAZg0R
Once she closed her eyes—gone.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifTGETv0p6
Just gone.
So she had to memorize.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7Ts3lQlme
Raw memorization.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6bsmAgSSI
Claire slammed her pen down on the desk, fingers diving into her tangled hair.
“God, I hate memorizing.”
It was like elementary school all over again—facing a multiplication quiz while still stuck on “7 times 8 is... what again?”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcL976OAwaD
Total academic despair.
She glared at the board and forced herself to read it out loud:
- Establish a consistent, simplified daily communication method157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIT46Ac5x5
- Design self-verification protocols157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3njJBBHgw
- Identify the rupture point in the time loop157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqqVmAUg9z
- Develop coping mechanisms for mental strain157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkdbBigXoY
- Test whether sleep is the trigger for resets157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlW6uZB3JL
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFoRKCNCQI
And below those?157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYKxFWojDT
Bullet point hell.
Claire nearly burst into tears.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXR0Te5YG5D
Wasn’t this the kind of thing you hired Batman to do?157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmcy7MoQuK
She was a bagel-slinging café owner, not a goddamn temporal physicist.
Nightwing and Robin had left around dawn.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOmbRRUpfG
She’d thought she’d feel relief.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJrHXMnfr0
She didn’t.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtz7NESCUaj
She felt like a balloon blown up way past safe capacity.
And Batman? Still here.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0zNQsnThV
Sitting at her tiny desk like he owned it.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbtmRcS5ks
Folding her notes into crisp little squares like some kind of insomnia robot.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7xyuy6NW7
She was starting to believe he didn’t even need sleep.
She had briefly wondered if he’d vanish at sunrise like a vampire or some brooding mythic shadow.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDlmX2xMsU
Nope.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLEoip1cBk
Still here.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjcObeNIIP
Drank her coffee.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhU5Bxgez3Q
Ate a croissant.
Batman eats food.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMIcHbBqrS
Claire noted this with bewildered internal sarcasm.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTPxWWK875
And, somehow… it made her feel a little more human.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzMAxcuRMG
A little more grounded.
Then 2 p.m. hit.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgMg1Wl0KI
And she just—couldn’t.
Her head throbbed like someone was banging pots inside it.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MJsJIX95G
A rhythmic BONG—BONG—BONG of pure pain.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3nmiXoFWS
Her ears were ringing.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSc2iZ6V0v
Her vision was starting to blur.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwALUtHwksP
She hadn’t slept in way too long.
Even Batman’s voice faded into background noise.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMRm2O1dwl
She could hear words, but they drifted by like waterlogged scraps of paper.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFvtT2mcTd
No structure. No connection.
Her neck gave out first.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjQMymS5px
Then her whole body slumped—soft and useless like an overcooked noodle.
Then she heard it.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd27tJv7zMT
A sigh.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fsc5LX7SY
Low.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2owxjGPv8
Close.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5wzc7tYmu
The kind of sigh you make when you don’t want to do something… but know you have to.
Then she was being lifted.
That jolt of surprise cleared her vision just long enough to see a pair of blue eyes.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxys7PmnwTW
So blue. So clear.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4u1B3SDgi
Like the first star that refuses to leave the morning sky.
Nightwing, she thought.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluxL2mma74
But she couldn’t speak.
From somewhere nearby, Batman’s voice drifted in—calm, slow, final:
“Claire. Remember what I told you.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrDxCKfgLW
Protect yourself first. Then find the truth.”
Someone laid her down.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2w1eKvRwp
Pulled the blanket up.
The scent of sunlight-warmed fabric and stale coffee beans wrapped around her.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob4SD122ON
Her bed was soft. So soft.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0E6YQg3vW
And for the first time in what felt like forever—she realized how badly she needed sleep.
Her mind tried to process what she’d forgotten.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPlKaNgPLK
Was there something she needed to say? Do?
Too late.
The dark caught her.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooaxYB5PVy
Held her.
Perfectly.
157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEFCIeAztq
Claire was awake. Again.
Same ceiling.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyszrprs5C
Same sheets.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxMR0jMXkD
Same sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zBfU8sA9l
Even the dust floating in the air looked copy-pasted from yesterday.
She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then took a long, deep breath.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPEF4XOIq4
No headache.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2MmItdvjs
No nausea.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF14BwhU3s0
Her whole body felt like someone had swapped it out for a new one. Even her stomach was fine.
Creepy.
Apparently, any sickness will vanish overnight—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ixRqXAvLW
If you're stuck in a time loop.
Day Ten.
She got out of bed, rubbing her temple as she walked. Her thoughts were sluggish, and the words "Day Ten" rolled through her mind like a bowling ball in slow motion—silent but heavy.
She grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote "Day 10" on it with a thick black marker, placing it in the corner of her desk.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQjeZBlVSL
It was her memory thread.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchNZpVHQNI
Her own little mark carved into an unremembering world.
Day Ten was the day Batman showed up.
Claire looked at the words for a moment, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Guess I’m kind of impressive, huh?"
If people in Gotham knew all it took to summon Batman was repeating the same day ten times, half the city would start dabbling in time magic.
She got dressed, went downstairs, and opened the café.
Today she cleaned the windows extra thoroughly.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRZIZHOvkA
Then she took out a pink sticky note and scribbled on it:157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwUMrr8rX0
“Today’s Bagel: Plain.”
She stuck it on the glass, stepped back to check.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpt0SWMEdE
It stood out.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNk6ruczSi
Bright and silly. Hard to miss.
Then she frowned.
Wait—why am I even doing this?
No one else would remember.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡns6rC9fapy
Only she knew what day it was.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh14PKJP4JC
Only she knew today’s bagel was different from yesterday’s.
But Batman had said it:
“You need a daily signal. Something visible. Something subconscious. Something verifiable.”
Maybe, just maybe…157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCfKsFjgiF
Someday, someone like her might see that note.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcy2h59YePf
And feel something click.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlvUrmUHRc
Some resonance.
Claire snorted.
“No deadlines, infinite time. What a dream.”
Colder than her fridge.
What kind of absurd life was this?157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2qAjOzkw4
She felt like a corrupted file stuck in the wrong folder—just looping and glitching.
She glanced at the clock. 9:57.
Her eyes drifted to the door.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mG99ncliq
Her body tensed, that silent alertness creeping in.
Blue-eyed cop.
Batman had asked about him over and over last night—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oJ0CcFMxx
What he wore.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBgkmVpClc
His tone of voice.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAPBK613J0
Which hand he used to take out his wallet.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvF2PuCDEan
What angle he walked in from.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgE4jsbW5m
How long he looked at the counter.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoNiaXCLH1
The pitch of his thank-you.
“You see this man every day. That means he’s not random. He’s a variable. He’s meaningful.”
Claire stood behind the register, adjusting the screen angle while mentally replaying every word.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2CVQP8t2e
Meaningful. Variable. Breach point.
She wanted to snap back—
“Oh sure, easy for you to say. This isn’t an RPG. How the hell am I supposed to spot a glitch in reality?”
But she didn’t.
She just bit her lip, sorted the coin tray, zipped up the change pouch.
She was still wondering—
Was he Batman’s informant at the station?
She shook her head, started folding a dish towel in half, just as she placed it into the second drawer—
The Door Chimed.
Crisp. On time.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aVvR0Ffma
Like it was baked into the script of the day.
Claire’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarv1rja5kr
9:59.
The door pushed open.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtVKlHKMV2
A familiar pair of blue eyes swept into the room.
They always looked like they carried morning fog—clear, cool, and oddly pure for a city like Gotham.
“Hi, you’re Claire, right? Kyle said the bagels would be out late today. Sent me to pick up the order.”
He smiled—polite, just a touch tired.
Claire didn’t respond right away. She just stared at him.
Stared so long she started to feel like a creep, as if she were peeking at the core of some cosmic mystery that hadn’t realized it was a mystery yet.
Is it you?157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKzO0nVxbX
Or are you just another poor guy trying to buy breakfast?
God, she wanted him to be different.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KESWGRI5e
Even five minutes late would’ve been something.
But nope.
Right on time.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNrUC4StY2
Said the exact same line.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPix5ofePAp
Paid with the same bills.
Claire considered doing a little test.
A spark lit in her head: Batman.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97k99omPDg
If this guy was an informant, that name would definitely spark some kind of reaction.
She narrowed her eyes, parted her lips—
Then shut them again.
Nope. Too much.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtehxDcfaql
You don’t just ask a random cop, “Hey, do you know Batman?”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPswCXc53r
That’s how you end up with a referral to a psychiatrist by tomorrow.
Plan B.
She pointed to the pink note on the window.
“Did you see that?”
Blue Eyes blinked, glanced at the window, then nodded.
“Yeah, I saw it.”
But his face clearly read: “Okay… and?”
Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsHav5sJHG
That one’s not working. Time to upgrade.
She grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a sentence, and slid it across the counter.
“Do you ever feel like the sun today won’t make it to tomorrow?”
She’d spent days refining that line in her head—poetic, haunting, a little tragic.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWLEnxeJL1
Surely it would hit something.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXs9L7dXdnA
Maybe he’d respond: “How did you know?” or “I’ve been feeling the same.”
He read it.
Paused.
Then frowned.
“Uhh… if you ever need someone to talk to, I know a really good therapist.”
Claire, mentally: ……
Great.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkv91FhLVm
Another morning, another conversation added to the Folder of Cringe.
She forced a smile.
“Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
He handed her the money, smiled again, and left.
The door shut.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhyEKp2yYB
The chime rang a second time.
Claire remained where she was, staring at the now-empty doorway.
A quiet line drifted through her mind:
Test Result: Inconclusive.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rdXBkuCuN
Day 10. Blue-Eyed Officer.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUm7xrp2Hu
No noticeable deviations.
But hey—157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkEuiX4Ogf
At least she tried.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2Ayfh5O11
and then Add to home screen.