For the first time, Claire didn’t open the café.
No scent of coffee wafted from her window,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKtGEAWJeQ
No familiar whir from the bagel press.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvJOtHtpKv
Instead, her hands—usually busy kneading dough by sunrise—were holding a marker,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdR2dhhw8Fi
Drawing arrows across a whiteboard like she was about to teach a conspiracy seminar.
She hadn’t slept. Not a minute.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyf1i3qwvn
Because Batman had said:103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdS4gRx4hS
“Don’t sleep.”
He’d said it calmly—too calmly.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciKTftGeWY
But the words had made her scalp tighten.
“If you fall asleep, the loop resets.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0NdUCO13B
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmArwCpSAn
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.”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ojzo0qHKK
But Batman shook his head, speaking slowly, deliberately:
“You need analysis.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EbrpEhCk8
You need to practice recounting your data.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudmNVpxfdv
I’ll leave a way to contact me.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvFfmYXycC
But you can’t start from the beginning every time.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFA3YgIP52a
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTD2dK4efF3
Because for the first time, someone wasn’t saying she was crazy.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoBbsZ3TyE
He was listening.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtx7AqPGKaU
He was thinking.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSF2JmvyoHi
He was—Batman.
And being a Gotham native, she felt this absurd, unexpected comfort rise up in her chest:
“At least it’s Batman.”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCwSoPRgBI
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRqiZRlhI7
It was the kind of thing you see in old cram schools—half cracked, fully inconvenient.
Nightwing offered to help.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmNSn5FbHK
They squeezed it up the stairs together, getting stuck at the landing for a moment.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZLcYUOfdx
He gave her a small glance and asked, voice quiet,103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyt5e9uZzlW
“You holding up?”
Claire was not.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRO9a3TByc4
Her arms were shaking.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dxtAbWzGX
Her eyes were dry.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTZDLljsnS
She felt like she’d downed three energy drinks and was vibrating slightly off-axis.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWw10JcOrD
But she still smiled and replied:103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0ZWqjB0Dc
“I’m good.”
It was a lie for herself.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOgxRybmWE
To remember she still could smile. Still could move forward.
Back upstairs, she brewed three coffees and a milk.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkoIpa33WV
Nightwing took his with a polite nod.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBfESccTp9
Robin sniffed the milk, made a face, and set it down.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZaUpfU5MB
Batman didn’t touch his cup.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oFjeRkuCY
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7zDLfYUYf
The marker hovered just above its surface.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaK6k0uoWb
That’s when she realized—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeg9SUmw8ta
Her so-called "clues" were embarrassingly few.
“Uh... at first, nothing big. Thought I was just misremembering stuff,”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2SefglBnz
“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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRb1nQUUFt
About Nightwing showing up on her balcony like clockwork.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ma8eteQGc
About the cursed bagel swap—the chocolate replaced by plain.
(None of it felt funny anymore.)
Batman didn’t say a word.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xEGono38q
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztCBFE1Cvi
But right now—right this second—someone understood her loneliness.
Night fell.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYMnouSS5d
The coffee went cold.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvYwAKCg6r
The whiteboard filled up—timelines, branches, points of deviation.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GiHdGKUhR
Batman stared at it like it was a war map.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdsDv3xkyt
Brows drawn, jaw tense.
And Claire—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPDpEzJMnW
For the first time in god-knows-how-many loops—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RTaUtfJIe
wasn’t alone.
She didn’t have to whisper to herself anymore.
103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMb5gnHoYFk
Claire knew she wasn’t that smart.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPNSBZF29V
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpd0X5ue4MU
Tactical terms.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MUeuesiwf
Observation protocols.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlzDS6dvzT
Hypothesis trees.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK01u9eGCAO
Arrow-filled logic webs about time loop mechanics.
Her brain was buzzing like someone turned on a high-frequency hum in her skull.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sdu4ggsRR
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHhJ0qoLp0
Bullet points.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMAljGheoU
Key phrases.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4fPldsKqI
Color-coded charts.
Didn’t matter.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbFaSfyJvO
Once she closed her eyes—gone.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjdi0a0zSf
Just gone.
So she had to memorize.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemSThXK41m
Raw memorization.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxC1uVGP68
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?”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2K6VGHbie
Total academic despair.
She glared at the board and forced herself to read it out loud:
- Establish a consistent, simplified daily communication method103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWfvN3mNQt
- Design self-verification protocols103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGfgjBzxpC
- Identify the rupture point in the time loop103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8OPHoMn6G
- Develop coping mechanisms for mental strain103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFi3M65Kq2
- Test whether sleep is the trigger for resets103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpGnwBfr4p
103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPxhWqdCzo
And below those?103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2cra5f0hf
Bullet point hell.
Claire nearly burst into tears.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Kyd51cvBv
Wasn’t this the kind of thing you hired Batman to do?103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqCQlxRpQb
She was a bagel-slinging café owner, not a goddamn temporal physicist.
Nightwing and Robin had left around dawn.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwfEASNyiL
She’d thought she’d feel relief.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJw27y0YV2
She didn’t.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEZsQ3AUax
She felt like a balloon blown up way past safe capacity.
And Batman? Still here.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKGfB5t3nG
Sitting at her tiny desk like he owned it.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPoHzMR9Se
Folding her notes into crisp little squares like some kind of insomnia robot.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyr7swcAYA6
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4fhdh9L5p
Nope.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TKQNsfhlH
Still here.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSOi4JL7Xp
Drank her coffee.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoiRMyDzWZ
Ate a croissant.
Batman eats food.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TdOTqKiSQ
Claire noted this with bewildered internal sarcasm.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEqbnFkedK
And, somehow… it made her feel a little more human.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSN64NYu0tx
A little more grounded.
Then 2 p.m. hit.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjoC7CTRWf
And she just—couldn’t.
Her head throbbed like someone was banging pots inside it.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuVgN8QP5k
A rhythmic BONG—BONG—BONG of pure pain.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPJA2RY4SF
Her ears were ringing.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04BGG8uPqu
Her vision was starting to blur.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VXYgrw6cp
She hadn’t slept in way too long.
Even Batman’s voice faded into background noise.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91YXJkGaME
She could hear words, but they drifted by like waterlogged scraps of paper.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDZk4h9dql
No structure. No connection.
Her neck gave out first.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfojpXM895
Then her whole body slumped—soft and useless like an overcooked noodle.
Then she heard it.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ttLIBf69g
A sigh.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LtBcz8tL4
Low.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyGX78ecKJ
Close.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuc2z1Dp3t
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHOfdPWAaF
So blue. So clear.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacxFmLkYU1
Like the first star that refuses to leave the morning sky.
Nightwing, she thought.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zn0wwASQG
But she couldn’t speak.
From somewhere nearby, Batman’s voice drifted in—calm, slow, final:
“Claire. Remember what I told you.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYudbJzoQ4
Protect yourself first. Then find the truth.”
Someone laid her down.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptv1bq2Zq2
Pulled the blanket up.
The scent of sunlight-warmed fabric and stale coffee beans wrapped around her.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4fA4tEqh3
Her bed was soft. So soft.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FutpVfwis
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7ASJs2gpg
Was there something she needed to say? Do?
Too late.
The dark caught her.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmacFZK23i
Held her.
Perfectly.
103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq81HYs3WgJ
Claire was awake. Again.
Same ceiling.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGkf9ONVjE
Same sheets.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzzCQlFiYQ
Same sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9TQgJkYmX
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EEQSp4wvc
No headache.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXYaNvdoki
No nausea.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0cbSJcSZf
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—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOnD5tKe6P
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuwdTT70Cc
It was her memory thread.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGITBA9ug9t
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpm1tUBAiwU
Then she took out a pink sticky note and scribbled on it:103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1xsAiWt4Q
“Today’s Bagel: Plain.”
She stuck it on the glass, stepped back to check.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HIRPoCyW6
It stood out.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgYqS6X3WM
Bright and silly. Hard to miss.
Then she frowned.
Wait—why am I even doing this?
No one else would remember.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtL2YofGp3S
Only she knew what day it was.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3uvE7G0UU
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…103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BXvQcoN5z
Someday, someone like her might see that note.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FAGK6mJMW
And feel something click.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSKkIzhjfd
Some resonance.
Claire snorted.
“No deadlines, infinite time. What a dream.”
Colder than her fridge.
What kind of absurd life was this?103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7UEW4NmsR
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ947uVZVlw2
Her body tensed, that silent alertness creeping in.
Blue-eyed cop.
Batman had asked about him over and over last night—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyq9Jgctrh
What he wore.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxqq2ztXvt
His tone of voice.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQf3KqP3jEA
Which hand he used to take out his wallet.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtmGtawCG5
What angle he walked in from.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPeQdLgzxC
How long he looked at the counter.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Dr2apasup
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFl2pfVDdMa
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwILoB9PFO
Like it was baked into the script of the day.
Claire’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhOQJ19eg5
9:59.
The door pushed open.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRi3M5ZxsSx
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?103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcP70sZnaJV
Or are you just another poor guy trying to buy breakfast?
God, she wanted him to be different.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwjZMnjQZU
Even five minutes late would’ve been something.
But nope.
Right on time.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YC8c0Sp4w
Said the exact same line.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHAuxKQy1y
Paid with the same bills.
Claire considered doing a little test.
A spark lit in her head: Batman.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqDwVvpAhZ
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmP3LU5LeE
You don’t just ask a random cop, “Hey, do you know Batman?”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXiWhD4ztw
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rMtlLGtc6
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGh5124d1L
Surely it would hit something.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69Fkn96ere
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8RTvVWVml
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKID3k1WwD
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eSsTvpHrk
Day 10. Blue-Eyed Officer.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJRPjD60ym
No noticeable deviations.
But hey—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52YPRigqZX
At least she tried.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4J46HW9bv
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