Claire passed by the church.
It was surprisingly full.
She hesitated.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUGDlkpdML
Didn’t plan to stop, but glanced through the open doors anyway.
Right—today was Easter.
Evening service.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fc5SB8ZhD
Everyone out to celebrate resurrection.
— She remembered the morning paper had a page with “He is risen” printed in bold above an image of Jesus cradling a lamb in golden light.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPTNk0s4vq
Too bad it didn’t make the front page.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdptjtdRp61
Nightwing’s butt did.
If every reset counted as a resurrection, she had Jesus beat.
— Jesus came back once.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cppwYn0wA
She came back every damn day.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1QJnZ0pum
No crucifixion required. Just the same bed, the same morning, the same jazz.
No blood.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkzrus1ZzA
No wounds.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZQfOg4K5L
Not even symbolic suffering.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7tRfSYQrf
Just... repeat.
You could celebrate Easter as many times as you wanted.
— So many that she wasn’t sure anymore: was she supposed to eat chocolate or take pills?
Claire kept walking, headed toward the hotel.
— People passed her in pressed clothes, holding wine bottles and cake boxes, on their way to family dinners.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmo6sB2Ak1G
She caught a trace of perfume and smoked ham in the air.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWmtfNkAB6
Warm.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9q0yK8j6l
Distant.
She didn’t look back.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpAEFWSb1b
Didn’t slow down.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWiAFTmZG9
Just pulled her jacket tighter around herself—trying not to look like someone on the run.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNAcojkdlX
She’d picked up some sushi and salad on the way.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPVAx8FBXZ
Not because she was hungry.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemXn3LXPYv
Just… preemptive.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RSJJCeD6s
— A biological necessity.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOd2wX7l3qm
Eating was proof she still had a plan, even if it didn’t taste like one.
The motel looked old.
Faded walls.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcGa9z5uGz
Window frames weathered like they’d been kissed by thirty years of ocean wind.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKO19PLPoGB
But the sign worked.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3beccq0lY
The light stayed on.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWifPR0cOzy
No flickers.
The online reviews had been solid.
— 4.5 stars for cleanliness.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YLupheN9U
Quiet.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGkLWBX0S0
No weird comments.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPzVXPAe0u
No ghost stories.
She booked a room with a window. Slightly more expensive, but not by much.
— Even if the world reset, she wanted to live like someone who hadn’t given up.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNCxI7wxuK
The window was proof: I still believe in a future.
She paid. Got the key. Sixth floor.
The elevator hummed with old energy.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdk1M6Cu5u
The lights inside were yellow—not the cozy kind, but the nicotine-stained kind.
She entered the room.
Locked the door.
Exhaled.
— Quiet.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqv74nEamUC
Locked.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQ5d1XOru6
New bed.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSEKtEGwXR
New air.
It might all be gone tomorrow.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyM1tRWB0R
But right now, she wasn’t home.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPNR1DOpta
And that mattered.
Tonight was her first attempt to break the orbit.
She had to pay attention.
Claire went to the bathroom, washed her hands, sat down to eat.
She wasn’t happy.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9VPAssniF
But she followed the routine.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB0TIqg1mg
— Eat first.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5iLC3yXA1
Otherwise she’d end up looking like someone mid-breakdown.
She walked toward the nightstand—
Someone was on the balcony.
The curtains weren’t drawn.
Claire froze.
— It wasn’t a shadow.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7j5fM7H7e5
Not just a blur of motion.
It was a person.
Weight.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJYuAAocQq
Posture.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRhGx1gLyI
Presence.
Her body locked up.
She should have ducked.
Instead, she recognized him immediately.
Robin.
— Red. Green. Yellow.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuEDcBe1Iv
That mask.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QZkPU3Hty
That ridiculous “R” stamped across his chest like Gotham’s version of a birth certificate.
Every Gotham kid knew Robin.
But she never imagined seeing him on her motel balcony.
On the sixth floor.
He was standing there, staring out over the city.
— Like he was waiting.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiQ8sGPYSe
Or patrolling.
His cape fluttered in the breeze.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSISBqum46
The darkness carved his silhouette sharp against the city lights.
Then he noticed her.
A woman.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgN4oGUy9ql
Staring blankly at him.
Robin tilted his head.
Turned.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cW9O5QlYi
Tapped gently on the glass.
— Not a warning.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLfgSMgcqj
Not a threat.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhmiXx7sE0
Just a soft “I see you” kind of knock.
Claire opened the window like she was sleepwalking.
— Her hand moved first.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1WCfNfCcA
Her brain was still buffering.
It didn’t make sense.
Which made it impossible to react.
Robin was standing right there.
Not on TV.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMR8NtVGOx
Not in a news segment.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROGctjH0fi
No crowd.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBKL8spW0u
No distance.
Just… there.
Looking at her.
Like he already knew she’d be here.
A kid.
— Sorry, Claire thought. But yeah.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVF6rEmGRI
He looked thirteen. Maybe fourteen.
Does Batman hire child labor now?
— Her inner sarcasm engine powered up instantly, beating her emotions to the punch.
She didn’t blink.
Afraid he’d vanish, like Nightwing had that night.
But he didn’t.
He stayed.
On her balcony.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPjHy17vXa
Inside a world where heroes weren’t supposed to show up.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi86HffjKqO
The kid—Robin—spoke politely.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6EVlBAx8A
“Good evening, miss. Sorry to bother you. I was wondering… do you know how to get to Queen Street?138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZ3CNiecgz
I’m kinda new around here.”
— It was a kid’s voice.
Not a deep-faked adult.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVs4pQb1a6
Not a pitch-shifted recording.
A real teenage voice.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOv1pTAslWL
Still sealed in honesty.
So Batman really did hire child labor.
That burst the last bubble of her “maybe he’s just a very short adult” theory.
— The whole Gotham-illusion-explanation system in her head collapsed into one simple truth:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAyUhEBbjn
Holy shit, he’s actually a kid.
Claire gave him a strange look.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2CzodFgIC
Then pointed toward the street below.
“Walk a hundred meters that way,” she said calmly.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeAvT8O4X6
“Then turn right. It’s about two hundred more.”
— Her tone was flat.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ufxs9znOA
Like she was giving directions to a lost fifth-grader.
But her mind?
Do you walk? Do you fly? Are we counting streets or rooftops?
She wasn’t sure which verb applied.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HO0cLS4qi
Walk to it?138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ798EyoCHSY
Swing to it?
She wanted to ask.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx955vu9npA
But felt that if she did, she’d lose a shred of dignity as a normal citizen.
Robin nodded.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZHIHF3nih
Turned.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IA2WDAZhi
Looked ready to leave.
Then—
A massive growl.
From his stomach.
Claire…
Robin…
Both froze.
The sound tore through the silence like a rip in paper.
The wind died.
Even the city noise paused.
It echoed.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKpaAhIVB4
Loud.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrcDSsC64l
Ridiculous.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHQLAGViWL
Undeniable.
Claire said:138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1E1rFsoK3
“Uh… you want some sushi?”
— Her mouth moved before her brain approved.
She hadn’t even decided to share her food.
It just… came out.
Someone needed food, and her body had a default response.
She never meant to be anyone.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKieWewSvw9
Just a background extra in the scene.
But somehow…
ns216.73.216.174da2
and then Add to home screen.