Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrIBeQT7t9
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUKOEih78t
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSAtUGFY32
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vYTMgfQKo
“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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7aKAVUUMj
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6ExMFoXAd
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wCnXfuj6Z
I’m a good citizen.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ncRItAsOX
Really.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcGlr7L7Sx
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdiIfhmMPz
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1t02r1Di0
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktApI9TBBy
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvF2cjIrOZS
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghAtjlBFql
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUx25KXiwh
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvv0JIEiiHi
Firm, steady. Familiar.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaZ4v6ZSc8
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.
93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBr6ECYO8Vk
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:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDn7OxBNVFF
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwuIqm3WQr
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.—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaer8DhBeNw
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNydE5vALy
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxd9Qu8xXm
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mNyRFLpcK
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:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUr0o4z2Ts1
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?93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiorPSacyLx
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiGlIJGLCE
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97KSVkqqWG
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TbcYrMYAG
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.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNbBvZwVG6
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…93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepiGrOcQeV
Was the light in his eyes.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RNcIR3cO2
and then Add to home screen.