Claire watched as the rocket faded into the sky—113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneDbf6djeK
until it cut through the barrier,113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1kj3B3tt2
and vanished.
It was a streak of light, sharp enough to tear the air, moving with a purpose that didn't waver.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiozoVQo1ca
No hesitation.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDE2f0wfwz
No turning back.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wGskgGDSt
She stood at the edge of the rooftop, wind pulling at her hair, as if the momentum of that launch had taken a part of her with it.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaOVVPUB6O
That final flash—gone like the last second of a dream before waking.
And suddenly—
She was tired.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuAF2qsRDN
Bone-tired.
Not the kind of tired that starts in your legs,113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBU7rThR2h
but the kind that begins deep in the marrow.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2Jlh1AUOH
The kind that whispers: It’s over.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgTBYVScCq
Like a string that had held too tight for too long and finally—finally—let go.
She didn’t cry.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzR4bSy83L
There was no water left in her eyes.
Claire just stood there.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNfjicUFek
Letting the weight come back.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZC32p4AJhA
Letting gravity settle into her body again.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5Lm4igZzT
Letting reality find her.
She walked down the stairs slowly.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLLaqRTLes
Didn’t look at the slime.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZjVWxZAkA
Didn’t need to.
They wouldn’t stop her.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnUNmY7IjE
They couldn’t.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1MUEac8eO
Because she was part of them now—113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oJxLHBqQD
the one who had allowed them to stay.
Her footsteps echoed in the stairwell like someone else was listening.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgIAOyutrC
The purple slime curled in corners, clung to windowsills,113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1utXiQhDFP
not moving, just watching—113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNyEPUexdW
quiet, like plants that forgot how to bloom.
Claire walked through the empty streets.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Jos7mWDBO
The city was still.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lVWkoH2Ie
Silent.
Dawn hadn’t touched the buildings yet.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwV8yN9Lg32
The whole place felt like it had just finished dreaming and hadn’t quite decided to wake up.
Her shadow stretched long under the streetlights.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GpqFZ2kFQ
Even the wind seemed to hesitate, following behind her in soft delay.
She passed the same coffee shop sign she saw every day.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdz5LwubdXC
Exactly the same.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsCgcjGeFg
Still there.
Claire reached her tiny apartment above the shop.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSh3JmALpTF
She opened the door.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ieEJC0J51
Climbed the stairs to the third floor.
Key in the lock.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUtDN3h51g
Hinge creaking.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJmrBdcW6G
Wooden steps under her feet.
Her legs shook, but she walked steadily—like she was finishing a ritual.
She reached her bed and lay down.
The mattress still held the memory of her body.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPfy505Zhx
The blanket pulled over her like a sigh.
Her heartbeat slowed.
No more calculations.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVtfQztoKO
No more checks.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqC3vcio48J
No more messages.
The world began to breathe with her.
And when her eyes finally closed—113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPdz29P4yI
darkness didn’t come to consume her.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYEGUCwQtc
It came to hold her.
Like a warm pair of arms,113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsnzM0gBgM
quiet and complete.
Goodnight, Blüdhaven.
113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94cNY8YXls
<<End of Part One>>
"If you liked my story, don’t forget to hit the like button!"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3bEcMOVo3
113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekBHvaYXdr
Bonus Chapter - The Day He Came Back
https://www.penana.com/story/185522
113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfg9wqfeT8
Bonus Chapter - Three at the Table
There are five side stories (bonus chapters) available!113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBNM5ddhOs
If you enjoyed the dynamic between Officer Dick Grayson and Claire, stay tuned—there’s more to come. Their interactions will continue in the bonus chapter: “Three at the Table.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUHyd56yrN
113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYP6itTUol
Claire’s story, for now, has come to a quiet close.
She’s safe. The city breathes. The sky remembers her.
Don’t worry—she will be found in the next part, after Leila and Nana’s story—but tonight, she sleeps.
Thank you for walking with her this far. She was never truly alone.
113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUa8MaC7jzt
✦ Ending Note ✦
Thank you for walking through this story with me.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡas4kdf5ECr
Claire’s journey pauses here—for now.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6cCRIfWpD
Her path will continue in the future,113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UDusMKn8V
but due to the timeline of events,113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SXKvvmgh9
we’ll first follow Nana and Leila’s stories before returning to Claire’s.
If you're curious, you're warmly invited to read ahead.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJB0lIcGnP
We'll meet again, somewhere between time and memory.
— CocoNotMilk
and then Add to home screen.