Tim didn’t want to sleep. He was already on his third cup of coffee tonight.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKklaOXVi1E
His movements were mechanical, void of emotion, as he brought the rim of the cup to his lips. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, bringing no sense of alertness—only a faint ache in his stomach. He knew this wasn’t helping, but he’d rather suffer stomach pain than close his eyes.
Batman had already finished his patrol. Everyone else had gone to rest.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrBt2wT0ym
The Batcave felt like it had been swallowed by the night. Only the warning lights flickered occasionally, casting flashes of red into the dark. The computer screen glowed faint blue, illuminating Tim’s face in a pale hue. Somewhere upstairs, Alfred probably still had a lamp on—but that had nothing to do with him. At this moment, he was the only one awake.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3U3h6IRx8B
The only one sitting quietly in the cave, eyes fixed on the screen.
His gaze was focused. His fingers tapped the keyboard now and then, producing a steady rhythm. Lines of data and images flickered on the screen. He forced himself to keep reading. Don’t stop.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtG7EHTVTu
Because the moment he stopped, he would start remembering.
He was doing everything he could to fill the silence.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YImCJdPot
Data analysis, checking the armory, organizing mission logs—any trivial task that could keep his mind from drifting to that scene.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbU4h0e7Egv
He told himself it was rational. Discipline. Necessary prep work.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54dyyneZ2W
But he knew those were just excuses.
Because the moment he closed his eyes, the memory would return—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNalViKMYo
That moment, burned into his brain like a brand. Impossible to shake.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkLLQQerqL
Nora, collapsing to the ground. And him, utterly powerless.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ386fQ1MXCu
That day, he still believed he was always prepared. Flawless.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyxX4pCym2
And yet, he couldn’t even save the one person who mattered most.
He once thought himself the calmest among them. Now, he couldn’t even finish blaming himself.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7Ss7fq9e5
Even after receiving the gift meant for Damian—sent from ten thousand years ago—a relic from a long-lost civilization, like time itself was mocking him, delivering hope from the ancient past... and all he could do now was wait.
Tim had been shocked. And suspicious.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡus3o6lbkuH
How could something this absurd be so perfectly timed?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYS0aVkiXPw
And yet, he believed.
Then came the message from the Federation’s Supreme Leader.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffvfkIv8zE
A sincere voice saying:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzQA2ncBaA
“Tim, don’t worry. Nora has gone back. It won’t be long.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHKnhUipgi
“She won’t end here.”
But Tim couldn’t fully trust it. He no longer dared to believe. Belief was fragile. It shattered too easily.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyyB9pPBsI
He knew she would come back—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgeXEcIMWU
Logically, the evidence was there. She was still alive. Just “asleep.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZr6Jys17y
But emotionally, he was still trapped in that moment—trapped in the image of her falling.
She hadn’t come back yet. She hadn’t spoken. She hadn’t opened her eyes.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1oteIwO2p
How could he be at peace?
He wasn’t.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0BDbp59vy
The closer he got to the edge of hope, the more terrified he became that it was all a mirage.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7u1pjuHcNF
He didn’t know whether he was waiting for her to wake up—or for himself to fall apart.
She still lay in the cryo-chamber. A sleeping beauty.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaO9f1jszo
Too silent.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZlNwPRmD6
Like some perfect specimen. Lifeless, yet beautiful.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjR8esK7e6
He hated himself for the thought—but he couldn’t deny that, in one brief moment, he’d imagined how she might look if she opened her eyes.
He had even leaned down once, staring at her—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVGgnFqchN
If I kissed her… would she wake up?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHBduhBomr
The idea was ridiculous. Stupid. But painfully real.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrJ2UfBS9F
He had actually bent closer.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzc3WnOzGK
And when he saw the frost on her eyelashes, it was like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0A61dWfkOD
He pulled away.
He had never hated fairy tales so much.
Tim stared at a crime report, forcing himself to analyze.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMQuF7crEp
He yanked his focus back to reality. Cold data blinked on the screen.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXHhkh4lfe
He used logic like a shield—statements, evaluations, numbers—all to build a wall against memory and feeling.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkWr5hMwj3
Just as he began typing his first tactical summary—
“Beep—”
A sudden sound.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7lq8sbF2u
Not an alarm. But not just background noise either.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMX4eAMSJDp
He froze, tension snapping through him.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDny54k5eRT
In the stillness of the Batcave, any sound was jarring.
Tim turned, trying to locate the source.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMTCvyffLP
He thought maybe someone left a communicator behind—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyMOkW7vfc
It wouldn’t be the first time. Jason’s. Damian’s. Even Barbara’s had gone off before.
But this sound...41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjBJ0Rg7as
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBwoWpUnpr
He shot up instantly.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFXkhDgMdv
Then stopped himself—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJn4EveEPhd
Don’t get your hopes up.
His breath grew uneven.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KKayN1dhc
Somewhere deep inside, a tiny ember flickered.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWDnVKOX8N
He clenched his fists, muttering to himself, “Calm down, Tim.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOvHxJixD2
This wasn’t a miracle.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5M0F8kpNc
Maybe it was just a malfunction.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHGla3ZWFy
He forced the thought away. Don’t hope.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5UJX2FEUO
Hope was dangerous. The crash of disappointment was unbearable.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeeFhBioFJ
It had happened too many times. One more might shatter him completely.
Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked toward the sound.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FfvqbAnOe
Tim headed toward the corner he often visited—where he sometimes just… sat.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHt76EwdaaS
His footsteps echoed faintly.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7v8H2aKnh
He didn’t dare run. Running meant expectation.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVgrEvXOrq
And expectation was a trap.
That was where the cryo-chamber was.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtl1qiZ0Ev
Each step felt like he was walking over memories.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFn0juy1tC
He knew this place too well.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EeuFaDuOY
He had kept watch here, spent nights here, even nodded off against the wall.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhS9P31G4U
This room was like an altar.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXTrIVAkgh
And he was its only mourner.
He stepped in.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe6WN0tWr9
And immediately sensed something was different.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjHG731XGk
Something in the air had shifted.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVirMFg8Jv1
Like still water suddenly rippled.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPrJCB7Zlg
Only he would notice.
The monitors connected to Nora’s vitals had changed.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MVGzMbcJe
He held his breath.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZM9BnIWNh
Eyes darting to the screen.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmi6eSDg26
He didn’t dare blink.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCpgrtu9Bq
Not even for 0.1 seconds.
There it was.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsY0GLW3QQ
Heart rate. Pulse.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp77ZPifU41
Slow.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifCc5lwXkK
Faint.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgqdtnm63x
But real.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYR1VYBpBg
Not a glitch.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI98hHD9UI
Not a playback.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjr5jA5QCHq
New.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dHoDZOif9
Alive.
The machine began to beep—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdfNDVr0Sg
Beep, beep, beep—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6zqbuNLZq
Following the rhythm of her pulse.
In the silence of night, it was the only sound.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPYWKBYKWs
Tim stood frozen.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aatz5buqt
His whole body tense.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlE1Yy1bR1
Lips trembling.
For the first time—he thought that sound was beautiful.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy55wG6w6xp
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WX9GWgGe8
It was hope.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZ2pZtDDub
It was her heartbeat.
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡby1zxNy0hB
and then Add to home screen.