Claire passed by the church.
It was surprisingly full.
She hesitated.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEZOJTTpLU
Didn’t plan to stop, but glanced through the open doors anyway.
Right—today was Easter.
Evening service.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54yg2Zsrh8
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccnLwmGzGy
Too bad it didn’t make the front page.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLbzs6USSy
Nightwing’s butt did.
If every reset counted as a resurrection, she had Jesus beat.
— Jesus came back once.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgGHSuuNku
She came back every damn day.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Qj2q3INNx
No crucifixion required. Just the same bed, the same morning, the same jazz.
No blood.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6d5cKrfVdT
No wounds.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1DyteuYy9
Not even symbolic suffering.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbaMLBQkXz
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPhFnUTopw
She caught a trace of perfume and smoked ham in the air.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogGiENg2x9
Warm.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ587LGEbZNf
Distant.
She didn’t look back.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6eliSAT4P
Didn’t slow down.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNnkRQoxmv
Just pulled her jacket tighter around herself—trying not to look like someone on the run.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm78qpAixQs
She’d picked up some sushi and salad on the way.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6hANt1IZe
Not because she was hungry.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bkrRUS2OG
Just… preemptive.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFj84uakcU7
— A biological necessity.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgU59r5QZJb
Eating was proof she still had a plan, even if it didn’t taste like one.
The motel looked old.
Faded walls.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8umf6PIEZX
Window frames weathered like they’d been kissed by thirty years of ocean wind.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUCvsHKkYF
But the sign worked.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5sjMxjpnr
The light stayed on.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4rL4emhbE
No flickers.
The online reviews had been solid.
— 4.5 stars for cleanliness.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRNsPPfNAz
Quiet.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeGImvl7gD
No weird comments.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83vzQOluEm
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lJtr4EFHQ
The window was proof: I still believe in a future.
She paid. Got the key. Sixth floor.
The elevator hummed with old energy.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDRbnHrecS
The lights inside were yellow—not the cozy kind, but the nicotine-stained kind.
She entered the room.
Locked the door.
Exhaled.
— Quiet.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5sCgMhxie
Locked.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKpunSm1M3
New bed.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmE5iRywDa6
New air.
It might all be gone tomorrow.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTLfSqmm88
But right now, she wasn’t home.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFNeFtP7B2
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oFFak2R92
But she followed the routine.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9F5RkQ60XO
— Eat first.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0OTejqZKv
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAGpZoMt83
Not just a blur of motion.
It was a person.
Weight.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQztCbaSJ3s
Posture.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE5mPBrWL4
Presence.
Her body locked up.
She should have ducked.
Instead, she recognized him immediately.
Robin.
— Red. Green. Yellow.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55oLPo8KzA
That mask.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMmIxKdJag
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEUZHjrDhp
Or patrolling.
His cape fluttered in the breeze.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBuSUddfcS
The darkness carved his silhouette sharp against the city lights.
Then he noticed her.
A woman.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4mNby5rrh
Staring blankly at him.
Robin tilted his head.
Turned.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdErwWkbdO
Tapped gently on the glass.
— Not a warning.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjOVWZjkRN
Not a threat.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYi9sjgoN1Q
Just a soft “I see you” kind of knock.
Claire opened the window like she was sleepwalking.
— Her hand moved first.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nCVOijxu9
Her brain was still buffering.
It didn’t make sense.
Which made it impossible to react.
Robin was standing right there.
Not on TV.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9Ok5LmB15
Not in a news segment.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU27VaGgrwq
No crowd.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTB5NQQRbk
No distance.
Just… there.
Looking at her.
Like he already knew she’d be here.
A kid.
— Sorry, Claire thought. But yeah.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeRf8d2tSP
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UgEc4WyMH
Inside a world where heroes weren’t supposed to show up.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HM4wrlz7t
The kid—Robin—spoke politely.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kBhuiKQyf
“Good evening, miss. Sorry to bother you. I was wondering… do you know how to get to Queen Street?32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJE1FbTU2z
I’m kinda new around here.”
— It was a kid’s voice.
Not a deep-faked adult.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDaE9LmA2y
Not a pitch-shifted recording.
A real teenage voice.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡambhrbyYIR
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:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOPxoXniwd
Holy shit, he’s actually a kid.
Claire gave him a strange look.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQWsVSc8hZ
Then pointed toward the street below.
“Walk a hundred meters that way,” she said calmly.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRo83T99fLU
“Then turn right. It’s about two hundred more.”
— Her tone was flat.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6PNQFK1ON
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZtjFGMGsN
Walk to it?32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaixNh7NUA8
Swing to it?
She wanted to ask.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhxCSMOTEf
But felt that if she did, she’d lose a shred of dignity as a normal citizen.
Robin nodded.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6qM4rmF1J
Turned.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yezf7DfZf
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjECJfwCbJ3
Loud.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMmpCTtTwm
Ridiculous.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeMePN2H11
Undeniable.
Claire said:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoAoAj4gFS
“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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡto5pn1lleZ
Just a background extra in the scene.
But somehow…
ns216.73.216.116da2
and then Add to home screen.