The screen shifted to Claire, brushing off a young officer’s doubts with deadpan sarcasm.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vT419cPH0
Then came the usual theatrics—her pseudo-supernatural mutterings, vague questions that always seemed to summon the same result:
Nightfall. Rooftop. Nightwing.
He landed without a sound outside her window, responding—almost instinctively—to whatever daytime rumors had floated his way.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEURuygJFYN
It was like he was drawn to her voice, or maybe to the chaos she inevitably stirred.
Cut to Claire sitting by her window in the dark.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIF0AGC2hY6
Her tone was calmer than before, her sentences tighter, her logic finally landing clean.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJktZB1EKKh
“I’m not imagining things. I’ve been observing. I have notes. Repetitions. I know how it sounds—but I have methods...”162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNDQ0c5mRY
Her eyes held steady as she spoke, each word clearly practiced. Hard-earned.
162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgXbViYPVw
162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QgbGyf2eZ
Next scene.
Claire on Nightwing’s back, flying over the city.
She clung to his shoulders, body suspended but somehow steady.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoat3xylalz
Her eyes were wide—childlike wonder replacing exhaustion.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvpkl2ylq0
Like someone flying for the first time.
She stared down at the city, at the lights, at the life she was still trying to hold onto.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitBYUOjleg
Nightwing showed off a little, playfully trading remarks with Robin nearby, like it was any other patrol.
Claire smiled.
A real smile. Not forced. Not polite.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Damszf4Ub
A from-the-heart kind of smile that lit up her whole face, made her look like someone who’d finally remembered what joy felt like.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKqOXU0DEJ
Even the atmosphere in the screening room shifted.
Tim set his laptop aside.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVoX7dLLNv
Steph paused mid-bite.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuR6fGbbZw
Dick let the corner of his mouth lift.
For a second, Claire wasn’t the tired woman trapped in a loop—162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHIJMKZhRG
She was part of their world.
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But the shift didn’t last.
The joy hadn’t even settled before something colder crept in.
Claire noticed something in the sky.
The screen showed her, lying back in Nightwing’s arms, eyes tilted upward.
The audience saw it too.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViIxh5FUhp
The camera pulled back—162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmISgNwSNKB
through the neon glow of the city—162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3aTxRAGA9
and there it was:
A thin, gleaming line in the sky.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIZLabyPNT
Like a zipper.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VsNoyW5u1
Like something that didn’t belong.
Silent.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5O8BM1UjFw
Still.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX76zlTGWqK
Utterly wrong.
Not a natural event.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrhBYMlGx0
Not a trick of technology.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfgY6u27Ph
Something had torn the sky open—and it was looking back.
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162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRoqUNmpYI
The music cut out.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHSkmHYrB6
A low hum replaced it. Barely audible, but somehow oppressive.
Dick whispered:162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiOwdRw8BL
“There’s... actually something there.”162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgGAyjAiQg
His eyes didn’t leave the screen.
Tim was already typing furiously.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMOoBIeHkx
Screens flickered, matching programs ran.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EHFnyefEi
Nothing. No matches. No answers.
Jason frowned—162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0U0jgViMf
The exact same expression Bruce had.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgI8EkQpFK
And for the first time, Jason realized just how much he mirrored the man beside him.
This wasn’t a problem.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigsTDazF58
This was a different level of threat entirely.
Jason muttered:162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzCmW7BYOs
“Bat, you see it too, right?”
Bruce didn’t answer.
He just stared at the screen, expression sharpening into that terrifying calm—162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZScqQGIjz
The look he only wore when something truly couldn’t be explained.
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Claire was brought to the safehouse.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGSiKWjs7Y
And introduced—to Alfred.
Everyone watching knew exactly what that meant.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrpPFL8WGC
In the Bat Family, if a civilian meets Alfred Pennyworth in person, it means one of two things:162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkr5hAWfEpl
You’re either about to become family, or you’re about to become a massive liability.
Tim’s eyes drifted nervously.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDA8fTD3g3d
Barbara muttered under her breath, “This is deeper than I expected.”
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And honestly, for anyone who knew the Bats, this was basically the onboarding process.
The screen showed Claire’s slow descent into their world—162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4SyxdH4zf
from bagels and espresso shots to survival drills and weapon checklists.
She looked exhausted.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYQyWYgxQF
The kind of exhaustion that bleeds through the screen and makes you want to nap.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZw51Ndkuux
Even the audience was getting stressed out on her behalf.
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Weapon safety protocols.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3sojl9dCr
Tour of the safehouse.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VXLFXlMAe
Basic field equipment rundown.
Batman delivered the briefing with his signature surgical precision.
On screen, he said:162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDGzcOmarF
“I know you’re not a bad person, Claire.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuUbNIxBKF
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make the wrong decision under pressure.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8p0H5rraUj
This is a weapon—not magic.”
Jason made a tsk sound.
He stuffed popcorn into his mouth and muttered,162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZ9XsGLVdC
“Classic line. Heard that one a hundred times.”
Tim just smirked, scribbling in his notebook.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxw7K2f620
Yep. A rite of passage.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2d235khhG
Usually comes after your first combat screw-up.
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Then came firearms training.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbN4uIFvtO
Hand-to-hand training.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKB7OedTpiG
And with every new exercise, Claire broke a little more.
At one point, she collapsed on the training mat, arms flopped out like a starfish.
“I’m supposed to be a barista!!”162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt85yUrjqc
She wailed at the ceiling like it personally betrayed her.
Damian, watching from the audience, looked unimpressed.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUFq62VRHd
“She should be glad I’m not the one training her.”
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Meanwhile, Nightwing had unofficially become the emotional support staff.
He was frequently seen hauling a half-conscious Claire off the floor and tucking her into bed.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EvXpLX3mw
The camera zoomed in on his expression—equal parts sympathy and regret.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1m8U4TINh
Like a preschool teacher wondering how the field trip turned into a hostage crisis.
Eventually, Batman pulled him from training duty.
Nightwing protested:162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdK9P39MWS
“I just wanted to ease her in…”
Batman didn’t even blink.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqi6cCAmsj
“This isn’t a coffee shop onboarding.”
Then he turned to Robin.162Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXotdBRwm3i
“You're up.”
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and then Add to home screen.