Just as Nightwing was internally screaming—something along the lines of What am I supposed to do?, I can’t tell her anything, and What even is this mission—Claire began putting on her coat.
Not frantically. Calmly. Like she'd already made up her mind, and had just been waiting to read the room.
She zipped up, pulled a thick winter balaclava over her head, and tucked all but her eyes out of sight. Cold, collected eyes. The kind that made you feel like you were the only thing not covered in snow.
Two sets of blue eyes blinked in unison.
Nightwing and Robin exchanged a glance that said: Where the hell is she going? Robin even darted a glance toward the window, as if double-checking what time of day it was.
Claire’s voice came through the balaclava, slightly muffled but determined.
“We’re going out. Testing only in the daytime is a waste.”
Her tone was steady. Not dramatic. Just a fact.
“I want to see this city at night. I want to know what’s real. I’ll need your help.”
She was stepping out into the unknown. The night had always been something she avoided—unfamiliar, blurry, a version of the city that felt like it didn’t include her.
But tonight, she wasn’t going to back down.
Nightwing and Robin didn’t argue. They just nodded. Silent agreement. Shared understanding.
They stepped out onto the balcony. The city stretched before them like a soundless maze, dark and glittering.
Claire tucked her hands in her pockets. “So… how exactly are we—”
She didn’t finish.
Nightwing had crouched down in front of her. One hand gestured toward his back.
The motion was too fluid, too practiced. Like he’d done this a hundred times. Like people just routinely jumped onto his back.
Claire stared. That ass. Seriously?
A small voice in her head muttered: This is stupid.
Nightwing’s voice cut in, mild as ever.
“Hop on. I’ll show you the view.”
It felt like a dream. One of those dreams that made zero sense but still managed to be oddly comforting.
Claire nodded, stepped forward, and climbed on.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QJJYJnzkH
Arms wrapped around his neck, face near his shoulder.
She didn’t even have time to form a thought before the smell of shampoo hit her.
Clean. Neutral. Kind of nice, actually.
Then came the click-thwip of a grappling hook firing.
And they were in the air.
Claire had entered a version of the night she had never known.
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM50cP2Ltu0
Claire soared above the city.
The wind whispered past her cheeks, soft and fast—like feathers cutting through the dark. Buildings below bent away in silent retreat. The streets shrank into neat little lines. Streetlights blinked like bulbs inside a dollhouse.
She looked down. The world had folded into something small, almost delicate.
From up here, the people weren’t people anymore—they were just glimmers, moving dots in a clockwork maze.
Like watching a miniature city behind glass.
Claire hadn’t realized the city could look like this—from this height, from this angle.
So this is what they see every night, she thought, her eyes widening.
This was their world—the vigilantes’. This sky was their second ground.
Nightwing turned his head, grinning like a kid showing off his favorite secret spot.
“So? What do you think?”
Claire could hear the pride in his voice. Not arrogance. Something purer. Love, maybe. A quiet certainty that this broken place was still worth saving.
She nodded, hard.
“It’s beautiful.”
His smile lit up like a rooftop billboard. Creases framed his eyes—real, honest joy.
You see? it said. I knew you’d get it.
The city was his. His to protect, his to believe in.
Robin flew nearby, barely making a sound—like a shadow that had somewhere better to be.
Claire glanced over.
“Is Gotham like this too?”
Robin shot her a quick look. His tone was cool, but his eyes gave something away.
“Not quite. But I’d say it’s better.”
And with that, he veered off to another rooftop, as if to hide the look on his face.
Nightwing called after him.
“Hey! Blüdhaven wins, hands down!”
The way he said it—it was part rivalry, part childhood banter, like brothers fighting over whose side of the couch is better. But it was warm.
Claire laughed. Really laughed. The sound rippled through the night air like a soft bell.
It had been so long since she felt that light.
No loops. No theories.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMOI9aNqHV
No clock ticking behind her thoughts.
Just this: the wind, the city, and the stars.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEIC1cmzAt
For tonight, that was enough.
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevDLWumseZ
They landed on a rooftop platform, high above the city.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KjuxOxW48
Nightwing set Claire down gently.
Her boots touched solid ground—and only then did she realize how tense she’d been the whole time. She exhaled, trying to settle her breath. She took off her balaclava.
Then the wind hit her like a joke she wasn’t in on—teasing, wild, yanking her hair in every direction like a brat with too many hands.
She squinted against the gusts.
God, it’s windy.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoq0vTSxcE
She felt like a weed in a storm, wobbling awkwardly atop this concrete sky.
Nightwing and Robin didn’t speak. They split up instinctively, scanning the skyline.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0Bprq5tP9
That unspoken discipline—sharp, quiet—was baked into their bones.
They weren’t here for anyone.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q7zys4X2r
They were here because they’d never not been here.
Claire stood there, watching them. Something softened in her gaze.
So that’s what they do every night...26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZxrdcXZIt
People like her had no idea someone was up here, watching, holding the city together like a seamstress mending in the dark.
Not just Blüdhaven. Gotham too.
The vigilantes—these shadows in motion—they drifted through the streets like wind. Like ghosts who’d chosen to stay behind and guard the living.
And for the first time in weeks, a quiet sort of warmth found her. Not loud. Not cinematic.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08RPi3l1Wi
Just steady—like a thread of heat drawn through the chest.
She looked up suddenly.
When was the last time I looked at the moon?
She couldn’t remember.
She tilted her head, searching the sky—26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHaKBoWksZ
—and froze.
Something was up there.
She blinked hard, eyes watering from the dry air.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbmK9Iwauj
It vanished. Then appeared again. Then vanished.
No. That’s not my imagination.
Her eyes stung. The tears didn’t even have time to fall—they just dried right out of her skull.
Then—there it was again.
Both Nightwing and Robin had noticed her staring.
Robin raised an eyebrow.
“What are you doing?”
Claire’s face was pale. She took a slow step toward Nightwing and said calmly,
“Let me lie down. On your arm.”
He blinked, unsure if he’d heard that right—but offered his arm anyway.
Then Claire, with the precise, unflinching grace of someone who’d just decided gravity was optional, leaned into him.
Not “leaned” like resting.
She draped herself over his arm, like she was auditioning for a rescue fantasy.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAY2rKsDVcB
One shoulder against his chest. One arm slack. Her whole upper body tilted back, cradled in his elbow.
Robin’s mouth dropped. Nightwing looked like he’d forgotten how to breathe.
Claire closed her eyes.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiUH58ucMx
But she didn’t see darkness.
She saw a line.
A long, narrow rip—suspended in the sky like a broken zipper.
The sky was fabric. Someone had pulled it apart.
Not clouds.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQbsgcojhM
Not stars.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpO8WlUn9S4
Not anything that belonged up there.
Just... something behind it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eGtnk9cgS
Something that shouldn’t be visible.
A door, maybe. Or worse—something that thought it was a door.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1YkHVRSeq
and then Add to home screen.