For the first time, Claire didn’t open the café.
No scent of coffee wafted from her window,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfCPEuCc01
No familiar whir from the bagel press.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKksaHLZ5Y
Instead, her hands—usually busy kneading dough by sunrise—were holding a marker,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0jR6Eg9OW
Drawing arrows across a whiteboard like she was about to teach a conspiracy seminar.
She hadn’t slept. Not a minute.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNogmK1DifC
Because Batman had said:111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSV3qW7rwO
“Don’t sleep.”
He’d said it calmly—too calmly.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lUmgBaRcI
But the words had made her scalp tighten.
“If you fall asleep, the loop resets.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0aC74DayC
What we need tonight is continuity. Not broken memories trapped in the same repeating day.”
“You said everything stays the same every time you wake up.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMWCiGbebR
Then that means anything that changes—happens while you're still awake.”
Claire had wanted to push back—“Why does it matter? You’ll forget everything anyway.”111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd05F0Tt4ik
But Batman shook his head, speaking slowly, deliberately:
“You need analysis.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhNPgn58p2
You need to practice recounting your data.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RdIK1sjuC
I’ll leave a way to contact me.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8Dwxw1jjw
But you can’t start from the beginning every time.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2OQMVUTID
You’ll need to find a way to tell the future-me everything—precisely—and what to do next.”
Claire had just… stared at him.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5TcwB428H
Because for the first time, someone wasn’t saying she was crazy.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSxPtQpdGv
He was listening.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwp7zrnHSZ
He was thinking.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFXHo3ORLR
He was—Batman.
And being a Gotham native, she felt this absurd, unexpected comfort rise up in her chest:
“At least it’s Batman.”111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPG3AbEtiV
If anyone could break the loop, it’d be him.
So she got to work.
Dragged the giant whiteboard her aunt had for some reason left behind from the second floor to the third.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppvJa0LpIS
It was the kind of thing you see in old cram schools—half cracked, fully inconvenient.
Nightwing offered to help.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmM3uBLHaB
They squeezed it up the stairs together, getting stuck at the landing for a moment.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5iivwDEpz
He gave her a small glance and asked, voice quiet,111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PrL1oQFLe
“You holding up?”
Claire was not.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxg1Hlqo1g
Her arms were shaking.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMp0IHuOlp3
Her eyes were dry.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zQW6S7DyK
She felt like she’d downed three energy drinks and was vibrating slightly off-axis.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0LqH0sPDT
But she still smiled and replied:111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48ifIWoyfZ
“I’m good.”
It was a lie for herself.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6VvI3ypS0
To remember she still could smile. Still could move forward.
Back upstairs, she brewed three coffees and a milk.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeXNspoMYo
Nightwing took his with a polite nod.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoi2Cuuj5Qk
Robin sniffed the milk, made a face, and set it down.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwjg2z82y9
Batman didn’t touch his cup.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSnsUoGzL4
He was already focused on the board.
“Let’s start. When did you first notice something was off?”
Claire stood in front of the board.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRkhJr0rUf
The marker hovered just above its surface.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXbuDQWHgO
That’s when she realized—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJZhrfNjwm
Her so-called "clues" were embarrassingly few.
“Uh... at first, nothing big. Thought I was just misremembering stuff,”111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlAPzY7fMi
“Then I noticed everything was the same. Every single thing. That’s when I started keeping track.”
She told them about the first time Robin knocked on the hotel window.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kAWiVSNpc
About Nightwing showing up on her balcony like clockwork.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaD5Tixod2x
About the cursed bagel swap—the chocolate replaced by plain.
(None of it felt funny anymore.)
Batman didn’t say a word.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BKxonGq2S
He stood, back straight, listening.
After each section, he reached for the marker and jotted a few lines on the board.
She didn’t know if he’d remember any of it.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifCVt8wuC2
But right now—right this second—someone understood her loneliness.
Night fell.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNDMTrvZrd
The coffee went cold.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYxRVjFK2Y
The whiteboard filled up—timelines, branches, points of deviation.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT26qoovglO
Batman stared at it like it was a war map.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFOacrbU9c
Brows drawn, jaw tense.
And Claire—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrh0mVCIUg5
For the first time in god-knows-how-many loops—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNH4gL0XYEX
wasn’t alone.
She didn’t have to whisper to herself anymore.
111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBJCmwmm54
Claire knew she wasn’t that smart.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXSs4Sk4Gc
No, really.
She stood in front of the giant whiteboard—originally used for notes like “Trash on Tuesday” or “Stop buying potatoes”—now filled to the edges with Batman’s handwriting.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MmrkdioQX
Tactical terms.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaS2OHenne
Observation protocols.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDD2mMPBaM
Hypothesis trees.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhr6OyxPzh
Arrow-filled logic webs about time loop mechanics.
Her brain was buzzing like someone turned on a high-frequency hum in her skull.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEnqleZeOk
She could read every word. But when put together, it felt like looking at someone else’s math homework—technically correct, completely unreadable.
Batman had even written her a memory guide.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjvxxR52PD
Bullet points.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAL1CYLjtu
Key phrases.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm5sHg5E8c
Color-coded charts.
Didn’t matter.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OZQwLB9Eg
Once she closed her eyes—gone.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYSABnaVbO
Just gone.
So she had to memorize.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZB5Inu6QHA
Raw memorization.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4wwacRVp7
Claire slammed her pen down on the desk, fingers diving into her tangled hair.
“God, I hate memorizing.”
It was like elementary school all over again—facing a multiplication quiz while still stuck on “7 times 8 is... what again?”111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYhyi4OkEj
Total academic despair.
She glared at the board and forced herself to read it out loud:
- Establish a consistent, simplified daily communication method111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrE88vKw9wU
- Design self-verification protocols111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFWctGdNDI
- Identify the rupture point in the time loop111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85fMaOJOuS
- Develop coping mechanisms for mental strain111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKTkCZHdTU
- Test whether sleep is the trigger for resets111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKc9OMetAF
111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRfAgIyslz
And below those?111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAaJtpRy0b
Bullet point hell.
Claire nearly burst into tears.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7QneN0Pec
Wasn’t this the kind of thing you hired Batman to do?111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wwNycXxQM
She was a bagel-slinging café owner, not a goddamn temporal physicist.
Nightwing and Robin had left around dawn.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98PhdFPoQr
She’d thought she’d feel relief.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTceBJhZK3
She didn’t.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthVdEsktGc
She felt like a balloon blown up way past safe capacity.
And Batman? Still here.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1u3xZFFt9
Sitting at her tiny desk like he owned it.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ehq3B5qe6
Folding her notes into crisp little squares like some kind of insomnia robot.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3JchSjADq
She was starting to believe he didn’t even need sleep.
She had briefly wondered if he’d vanish at sunrise like a vampire or some brooding mythic shadow.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRFbzwj7C1
Nope.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImFJmGCh7x
Still here.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbAJTAlI9D
Drank her coffee.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0wWGOpCNe
Ate a croissant.
Batman eats food.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTijkWvSTE
Claire noted this with bewildered internal sarcasm.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AKz4HVPqr
And, somehow… it made her feel a little more human.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Cakg0no3w
A little more grounded.
Then 2 p.m. hit.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0KEyrFhxq
And she just—couldn’t.
Her head throbbed like someone was banging pots inside it.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZBJHZXWOb
A rhythmic BONG—BONG—BONG of pure pain.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlE8h9Fwf1v
Her ears were ringing.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGV23QZHAjZ
Her vision was starting to blur.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkaIiTMwaE
She hadn’t slept in way too long.
Even Batman’s voice faded into background noise.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZmjKBd3XL
She could hear words, but they drifted by like waterlogged scraps of paper.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5v8A5VX3K
No structure. No connection.
Her neck gave out first.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPFSPDTFFC
Then her whole body slumped—soft and useless like an overcooked noodle.
Then she heard it.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNOeQSyYd4
A sigh.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAC9VrVGOo
Low.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorj1pnF0wN
Close.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSpj5XE3qC
The kind of sigh you make when you don’t want to do something… but know you have to.
Then she was being lifted.
That jolt of surprise cleared her vision just long enough to see a pair of blue eyes.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszrYEMLS1g
So blue. So clear.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGANcNtFoxw
Like the first star that refuses to leave the morning sky.
Nightwing, she thought.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtp5L6RFbGJ
But she couldn’t speak.
From somewhere nearby, Batman’s voice drifted in—calm, slow, final:
“Claire. Remember what I told you.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWbVU0LMYE
Protect yourself first. Then find the truth.”
Someone laid her down.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo35cpVfQVb
Pulled the blanket up.
The scent of sunlight-warmed fabric and stale coffee beans wrapped around her.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGNCUOtTbn
Her bed was soft. So soft.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TjU7R0WLg
And for the first time in what felt like forever—she realized how badly she needed sleep.
Her mind tried to process what she’d forgotten.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAkXDMTS5U
Was there something she needed to say? Do?
Too late.
The dark caught her.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dbnU5CgrM
Held her.
Perfectly.
111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqA1ABq1F7G
Claire was awake. Again.
Same ceiling.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kBkkHoJDy
Same sheets.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqTUGkLbwx
Same sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxq07uVjOdM
Even the dust floating in the air looked copy-pasted from yesterday.
She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then took a long, deep breath.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrU8h4amyY
No headache.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHfKWKuLyi
No nausea.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrI3CjGA1bp
Her whole body felt like someone had swapped it out for a new one. Even her stomach was fine.
Creepy.
Apparently, any sickness will vanish overnight—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7pJc9hp9y
If you're stuck in a time loop.
Day Ten.
She got out of bed, rubbing her temple as she walked. Her thoughts were sluggish, and the words "Day Ten" rolled through her mind like a bowling ball in slow motion—silent but heavy.
She grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote "Day 10" on it with a thick black marker, placing it in the corner of her desk.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOu4W2vnxzh
It was her memory thread.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WspYk3yRY
Her own little mark carved into an unremembering world.
Day Ten was the day Batman showed up.
Claire looked at the words for a moment, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Guess I’m kind of impressive, huh?"
If people in Gotham knew all it took to summon Batman was repeating the same day ten times, half the city would start dabbling in time magic.
She got dressed, went downstairs, and opened the café.
Today she cleaned the windows extra thoroughly.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3LBAKXsv7h
Then she took out a pink sticky note and scribbled on it:111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujiYWP47Oa
“Today’s Bagel: Plain.”
She stuck it on the glass, stepped back to check.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlONlAG3BU
It stood out.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8JQlxZJNl
Bright and silly. Hard to miss.
Then she frowned.
Wait—why am I even doing this?
No one else would remember.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoWiLdJRU3
Only she knew what day it was.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YtCfO7bCq
Only she knew today’s bagel was different from yesterday’s.
But Batman had said it:
“You need a daily signal. Something visible. Something subconscious. Something verifiable.”
Maybe, just maybe…111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicH7hoBPet
Someday, someone like her might see that note.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWX0dQ9Vfzh
And feel something click.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9kHtRh40r
Some resonance.
Claire snorted.
“No deadlines, infinite time. What a dream.”
Colder than her fridge.
What kind of absurd life was this?111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlIOJ9ENno
She felt like a corrupted file stuck in the wrong folder—just looping and glitching.
She glanced at the clock. 9:57.
Her eyes drifted to the door.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQ2HroI4rr
Her body tensed, that silent alertness creeping in.
Blue-eyed cop.
Batman had asked about him over and over last night—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kHNq800nQ
What he wore.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZShDChQ6m
His tone of voice.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYMKSUTeoE
Which hand he used to take out his wallet.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5taR6x9rI1
What angle he walked in from.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHG08E3m64
How long he looked at the counter.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjghTDZA1kB
The pitch of his thank-you.
“You see this man every day. That means he’s not random. He’s a variable. He’s meaningful.”
Claire stood behind the register, adjusting the screen angle while mentally replaying every word.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2q6pw7upx
Meaningful. Variable. Breach point.
She wanted to snap back—
“Oh sure, easy for you to say. This isn’t an RPG. How the hell am I supposed to spot a glitch in reality?”
But she didn’t.
She just bit her lip, sorted the coin tray, zipped up the change pouch.
She was still wondering—
Was he Batman’s informant at the station?
She shook her head, started folding a dish towel in half, just as she placed it into the second drawer—
The Door Chimed.
Crisp. On time.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAV6gb0uplX
Like it was baked into the script of the day.
Claire’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvW0XoaCXn
9:59.
The door pushed open.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7igfqpZNnK
A familiar pair of blue eyes swept into the room.
They always looked like they carried morning fog—clear, cool, and oddly pure for a city like Gotham.
“Hi, you’re Claire, right? Kyle said the bagels would be out late today. Sent me to pick up the order.”
He smiled—polite, just a touch tired.
Claire didn’t respond right away. She just stared at him.
Stared so long she started to feel like a creep, as if she were peeking at the core of some cosmic mystery that hadn’t realized it was a mystery yet.
Is it you?111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDC2Hm4pgq
Or are you just another poor guy trying to buy breakfast?
God, she wanted him to be different.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjI3nPdNV8l
Even five minutes late would’ve been something.
But nope.
Right on time.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBh2emrhdX
Said the exact same line.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1FADOy2Un
Paid with the same bills.
Claire considered doing a little test.
A spark lit in her head: Batman.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6FCKwBKvr
If this guy was an informant, that name would definitely spark some kind of reaction.
She narrowed her eyes, parted her lips—
Then shut them again.
Nope. Too much.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxgHwBEv9b
You don’t just ask a random cop, “Hey, do you know Batman?”111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDS61ickVH6
That’s how you end up with a referral to a psychiatrist by tomorrow.
Plan B.
She pointed to the pink note on the window.
“Did you see that?”
Blue Eyes blinked, glanced at the window, then nodded.
“Yeah, I saw it.”
But his face clearly read: “Okay… and?”
Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzS5ElwoiA
That one’s not working. Time to upgrade.
She grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a sentence, and slid it across the counter.
“Do you ever feel like the sun today won’t make it to tomorrow?”
She’d spent days refining that line in her head—poetic, haunting, a little tragic.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8PZbHMo6F
Surely it would hit something.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJldGLbl51B
Maybe he’d respond: “How did you know?” or “I’ve been feeling the same.”
He read it.
Paused.
Then frowned.
“Uhh… if you ever need someone to talk to, I know a really good therapist.”
Claire, mentally: ……
Great.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1GBvWm004
Another morning, another conversation added to the Folder of Cringe.
She forced a smile.
“Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
He handed her the money, smiled again, and left.
The door shut.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pdBTAZx8V
The chime rang a second time.
Claire remained where she was, staring at the now-empty doorway.
A quiet line drifted through her mind:
Test Result: Inconclusive.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXBHDrdStz
Day 10. Blue-Eyed Officer.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddAU79bI8Z
No noticeable deviations.
But hey—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghNhZonAT1
At least she tried.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25DJvkEaDw
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