Claire froze.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgkfsKLZ4L
A chill ran down her spine, as if someone had quietly pushed her into a pool of ice water. Her shoulders tensed. Her fingers trembled, just slightly.
“The rift is watching her.”
That sentence stabbed into her mind like a pin.
Not she was looking at it, but that… thing—whatever it was—was staring back.
Her stomach twisted.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oY2Ysu4F8
The warmth of the soup she’d just had in the kitchen surged back up, stopped at her throat like it had second thoughts.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUrOVaSpn7
The warmth was gone.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXAhQlmfXx
All that remained was an indescribable cold.
She had suspected it for a while now—that the rift didn’t just “appear” to her.
It let her see it.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlPKQnheL5
Like something pointing her out from a crowd and saying, you—look this way.
She swallowed, trying to stay calm.
But what caught her off guard… was that none of the three men denied what she said.
No one laughed.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2ME04do7N
No one exchanged that “okay, she’s crazy” look.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcomrP3ZnF
No one told her to calm down.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzq6EW3EhZ
No one gave her the “we’re just humoring you” smile.
There was no ridicule.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDaWQhrmMQ
No patronizing sympathy.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4VSm0kGFP
Not even a subject change.
Instead—Batman looked like someone who had just found a missing puzzle piece.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RXYfYa8UG
His eyes stayed fixed on the rift she’d drawn, brows furrowed deep—like a question that had haunted him for a long time was finally starting to make sense.
Nightwing sat beside her, a hand resting on one knee, his body slightly leaning forward.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51pVdREtae
He looked like he was holding himself back—not from disbelief, but from the urge to tell her, “This can’t be real,” just to keep her sane. But he didn’t say it.
His posture said enough:304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewxnICTrZL
Suspicion.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaCGjsqbEZ
Anxiety.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtZ20eXnLS
But more than anything—alertness.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcS89T9Glh
Not toward her, but toward the possibility of something too dangerous to name.
Robin, meanwhile, had a hand to his chin, brows furrowed so tightly they looked carved in stone. He seemed stuck—trying to reconstruct something in his mind. Like some incomplete signal had lodged itself there, and he couldn’t decode it.
“If the rift is watching her,” Robin finally said, “does that mean it’ll come looking for her?”
The words dropped heavy.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4W7c3YgV6
Even the wind seemed to hesitate.
It wasn’t a theory.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHVHipMduh
It was a warning.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQLYzvLNHw
We can’t let her face this alone.
Claire said nothing.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0thkjKtFR
She wasn’t sure she could.
Her lips felt sealed shut.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZDmJIJ6xX
Her throat was full of ice.
Then it hit her.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWPXIbQ1qF
That in front of these people—saying there was a rift in the sky wasn’t delusion.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlc52JijZW7
It was… the start of an investigation.
This wasn’t a hallucination.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFmjonuESP
It was a threat assessment.
And that terrified her more.
Because if they were taking it seriously—304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbUHVK1R7s
It meant the thing she saw might really exist.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyxknC2j1N
Not just in her head.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMfm2cBkuD
But somewhere, out there.
Batman looked up, his gaze heavy as iron.
“Claire,” he said, his voice firm and final,304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzusPwM1vtX
“I’m taking you to the safe house.”
There was no room for discussion.
“You’ll need something to protect yourself.”
Not maybe.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHWZMO7VIT
Not if.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAWnkGEZSJ
But definitely.
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qkjkLMOwj
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2hwzejUNB
You know—underground vault, biometric scans, a hidden elevator behind a sliding bookshelf. That kind of thing.
Because come on. It’s Batman. A little drama wouldn’t hurt.
But no. It was a regular apartment.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkxIoOMVAZ
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNSCd73LOQ
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VFMcU6IEV
Claire frowned and followed the three men inside.
When all four of them squeezed into what looked like a barely furnished studio, her first reaction was:
“Wow. Depressing.”
White walls. Wooden floor. Two chairs, one table.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokUsVQLthm
No couch.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnCNd0jj5s
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgjCiSemz7
This was a rental someone never bothered to decorate because they knew the rent was highway robbery.
Before she could finish the mental roast, Batman walked to the wall, reached for a light fixture—304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ333bxy2eWi
Click.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73Ly2OmvkC
A hidden door slid open, revealing a short staircase going down.
No dramatic music. No warning. Just—there.
Claire instinctively took a step back. Her heartbeat skipped.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFXXMa2lwv
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjkAtoSPlY
She was last. Eyes darting left and right like she’d stepped into sacred ground.
Then her foot touched the first step, and the world opened up.
Her eyes widened.
It wasn’t a damp basement.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGkKuFOCaS
It was an underground command center.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmsv0gFpKi
High ceiling. Cold air. Monitors everywhere, blinking with graphs, maps, and strings of data that looked like alien stock reports.
Weapons lined the walls—some shaped like bat wings, others like mechanical scorpion tails.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoka0Y4OBz
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPsNLpWDcU
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsXIfdxHPA
“Definitely funded. Like, no-one’s-asking-for-receipts funded.”
One phrase popped into her mind—weaponized wealth.
Where did vigilantes get their money?
She used to think they were all about justice and grit, powered by passion and determination.
Now it felt more like… WayneTech’s unauthorized tech demo.
She muttered under her breath,
“So Bruce Wayne really is the sponsor. That tracks…”
She didn’t finish the thought.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOrVlagnhg
Didn’t need to.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv47MzrCtJt
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoTU0l0jmW
her college years, back when she was on a full scholarship from the Wayne Foundation.
Every semester, like clockwork, a generous sum landed in her account.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsxOOAkdxM
Big enough that her friends from other departments would whisper things like, “Are you in some kind of secret athletic program?”
All she had to do was run.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYctDUazLGf
Win.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡki8Rb330od
Over and over.
Until that one race—304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrTuoNrS8p
The one her knee didn’t survive.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgx2uTq7nqs
She never crossed the finish line.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAIjfqyHoA
But that race ended more than just the competition.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmw0HEmnEZ
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtKoN65NKT
Wind slicing past her ears.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbh4CfokMe
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGvK7RI6kT
The weightlessness.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZGxrLLSbp
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJyqZKby77
A ghost of someone she used to be.
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ndi1BxxYP
Claire had expected the safehouse to be, well, a bit more Batman.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLsNwJxdu6
You know—underground vault, biometric scans, a hidden elevator behind a sliding bookshelf. That kind of thing.
Because come on. It’s Batman. A little drama wouldn’t hurt.
But no. It was a regular apartment.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYbpO8Bdpt
Third floor. No trapdoor. No secret codes.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxoQeRwFIU
Just a metal door and a creaky stairwell dim enough to make you wonder if the landlord forgot to change the lightbulb.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSL4T8Pd4QD
Claire frowned and followed the three men inside.
When all four of them squeezed into what looked like a barely furnished studio, her first reaction was:
“Wow. Depressing.”
White walls. Wooden floor. Two chairs, one table.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1fIholVPr
No couch.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTAsyPz6Tc
No personality.
This wasn’t a safehouse.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjLEojpQor
This was a rental someone never bothered to decorate because they knew the rent was highway robbery.
Before she could finish the mental roast, Batman walked to the wall, reached for a light fixture—304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaNdFuJkAB
Click.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ85HQUtCvO
A hidden door slid open, revealing a short staircase going down.
No dramatic music. No warning. Just—there.
Claire instinctively took a step back. Her heartbeat skipped.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5nb4HysxI
“…Okay, that’s a little dramatic,” she muttered.
They filed down one by one.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElsUnf57uH
She was last. Eyes darting left and right like she’d stepped into sacred ground.
Then her foot touched the first step, and the world opened up.
Her eyes widened.
It wasn’t a damp basement.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQQX6QD3VD
It was an underground command center.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vNxZxsibw
High ceiling. Cold air. Monitors everywhere, blinking with graphs, maps, and strings of data that looked like alien stock reports.
Weapons lined the walls—some shaped like bat wings, others like mechanical scorpion tails.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkCPZOfpyB
There was even something on the desk that looked suspiciously like it could fire lasers.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkiZoQSOxH
A red light blinked on its side like it was deciding who to vaporize first.
Her throat went dry.
“All this stuff…” she whispered.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8IW9jYMDx
“Definitely funded. Like, no-one’s-asking-for-receipts funded.”
One phrase popped into her mind—weaponized wealth.
Where did vigilantes get their money?
She used to think they were all about justice and grit, powered by passion and determination.
Now it felt more like… WayneTech’s unauthorized tech demo.
She muttered under her breath,
“So Bruce Wayne really is the sponsor. That tracks…”
She didn’t finish the thought.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQv5DVYmeat
Didn’t need to.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8o8UPM5Wb
The dots were connecting themselves.
Standing in that room, a memory surfaced—304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeVoQlfMMRE
her college years, back when she was on a full scholarship from the Wayne Foundation.
Every semester, like clockwork, a generous sum landed in her account.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOWVwYU8zD
Big enough that her friends from other departments would whisper things like, “Are you in some kind of secret athletic program?”
All she had to do was run.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ookjzRIey
Win.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKJJ3Z1WqS
Over and over.
Until that one race—304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTEBGe0Q5l
The one her knee didn’t survive.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR1m2mtand
She never crossed the finish line.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtmokOi3wt
But that race ended more than just the competition.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAeEaI5dWq
It cleaved her life into before and after.
Sometimes she still dreamed of running.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIMvr4qhP1
Wind slicing past her ears.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyq3Oyt2L4
Feet barely touching the track.
When she woke up, the memory was so vivid, she could still feel it in her legs.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4oBdbVkNS
The weightlessness.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPMi1tJbb9
The flight.
It felt like a message from a previous life.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UHydsN7fK
A ghost of someone she used to be.
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCcpcAjpGl
Batman sat down at the console, his long cape fanning out over the back of the chair.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAzmkKH78i
His fingers moved fast—sharp, precise, mechanical. One by one, the monitors lit up, as if some dormant beast had just awakened, stretching its limbs with a low digital growl.
Claire lagged a few steps behind.
She stood there, eyes scanning the room.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRw1qVRFgIf
Was this really not some kind of secret weapons cache?304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBS0UZYinCc
Because honestly, it was giving serious classified-military-facility energy.
Metal-panel walls. Harsh fluorescent lighting. Devices whose functions she couldn’t begin to guess.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbnAcYQrLK
There was even something that looked suspiciously like an operating table—which she immediately looked away from, because nope. No thanks. No curiosity here.
She was just about to poke at a black storage case labeled with a large “F”, when a voice—British, older, calm but gently concerned—spoke from the monitor.
“Sir, have you located Robin?”
Claire’s head snapped up.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tkKCiZtoe
On screen was a sharply dressed older man in a suit that looked like it belonged in a vintage London magazine. A row of gleaming silver teapots lined the shelves behind him.
His eyes swept the screen—then paused.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UsDGXTdmE
He blinked slightly as he spotted her standing in the corner.
“Sir… and this is?”
Batman didn’t look up. Still typing, still focused.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgcgi4RQ1p
But he answered steadily.
“This is Claire.”
Then, finally, he turned his head.
“Claire, explain yourself.”
Claire blinked.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNNqide81y
Here we go again.
Was he training her public speaking, or just too lazy to do the intro?
She inhaled, dug her nails into her palm, and willed herself into composure.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwBTOcyKvs
She’d already told this story twice—once to Nightwing and Robin, then again to Batman himself. But the third time? Still sucked.
She cleared her throat.
“I’m Claire. I’ve been… stuck repeating the same day.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX63Was97H
And tonight, I saw something in the sky.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOevqo4s7Dt
Like a crack. A rip.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACt4LEOfg8
Only I can see it. No one else can. But I know it’s there.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRmf4BFlLp
Because I can still see it even when I close my eyes.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEAz5srYHr
It’s not a hallucination.”
Her voice was steady—maybe a bit too fast—but it held.
The man on the screen didn’t flinch. Didn’t smirk. Didn’t doubt.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsayuSOZCV1
He simply gave a small, understanding nod.
Claire blinked again.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCt97i4eltJ
She realized she’d been bracing for something—skepticism, sarcasm, at least a raised eyebrow.
But nothing came.
Silence settled around her.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIhs1qeO9S
Just the soft mechanical hum of the monitors at the edge of the room.
Well.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAqmJg8jJf
That was the third time.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTALRijaqrt
Story delivered.
Can someone get me a glass of water now?304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyd2sYUMGn
and then Add to home screen.