Claire passed by the church.
It was surprisingly full.
She hesitated.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7iGcZsWPc
Didn’t plan to stop, but glanced through the open doors anyway.
Right—today was Easter.
Evening service.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcsgJfiNrd
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnkAPO3cTD
Too bad it didn’t make the front page.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbHWuWYTU0
Nightwing’s butt did.
If every reset counted as a resurrection, she had Jesus beat.
— Jesus came back once.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mzc1Yduux
She came back every damn day.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQS0Vz0MrP
No crucifixion required. Just the same bed, the same morning, the same jazz.
No blood.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCefYsYhPL
No wounds.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUTUtBEfC2
Not even symbolic suffering.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvNteDxMw9
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigvuE8s6f5
She caught a trace of perfume and smoked ham in the air.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHJMYuDgwI
Warm.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToo69d3owl
Distant.
She didn’t look back.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5y4AFNOO4
Didn’t slow down.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlqgQBGm8z
Just pulled her jacket tighter around herself—trying not to look like someone on the run.
373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1kkcHljA6
She’d picked up some sushi and salad on the way.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWylyrs4UyH
Not because she was hungry.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUn3jLLSGXf
Just… preemptive.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbvO13lTJp
— A biological necessity.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZEMXbVynK
Eating was proof she still had a plan, even if it didn’t taste like one.
The motel looked old.
Faded walls.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLf99NdIpp
Window frames weathered like they’d been kissed by thirty years of ocean wind.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wUo3IHU5U
But the sign worked.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmx44A9TSa
The light stayed on.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwltpkbhzZ
No flickers.
The online reviews had been solid.
— 4.5 stars for cleanliness.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMul1zgcNR
Quiet.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEQerjUa71
No weird comments.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCoIDc2tP1
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmL3ZYK2Sm
The window was proof: I still believe in a future.
She paid. Got the key. Sixth floor.
The elevator hummed with old energy.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgoa1IKMQ1
The lights inside were yellow—not the cozy kind, but the nicotine-stained kind.
She entered the room.
Locked the door.
Exhaled.
— Quiet.
373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBez3rHWri6
Locked.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOr0RO9Gyi
New bed.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKXDQTfUrG
New air.
It might all be gone tomorrow.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4vUBB05sH
But right now, she wasn’t home.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3R3rKApWv
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtCIa6J96g
But she followed the routine.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqip8yNcW9
— Eat first.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6wb24Gwyb
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCh4ltpZEV
Not just a blur of motion.
It was a person.
Weight.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs39E5FTxi4
Posture.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSxGvA3KJS
Presence.
Her body locked up.
She should have ducked.
Instead, she recognized him immediately.
Robin.
— Red. Green. Yellow.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHnLHltGxd
That mask.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd2bVuO2Ym
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoiNPeQJjd
Or patrolling.
His cape fluttered in the breeze.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8GCwtXhav
The darkness carved his silhouette sharp against the city lights.
Then he noticed her.
A woman.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYSklTEimu
Staring blankly at him.
Robin tilted his head.
Turned.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XQ0zSJYJ8
Tapped gently on the glass.
— Not a warning.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUKRFOTXdN
Not a threat.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQinClO67VR
Just a soft “I see you” kind of knock.
Claire opened the window like she was sleepwalking.
— Her hand moved first.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0u3ZuMOXnG
Her brain was still buffering.
It didn’t make sense.
Which made it impossible to react.
Robin was standing right there.
Not on TV.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxwEQpBIA1
Not in a news segment.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqkl7foVpf
No crowd.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNkxoQCKTt
No distance.
Just… there.
Looking at her.
Like he already knew she’d be here.
A kid.
— Sorry, Claire thought. But yeah.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBj13jagaSt
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4VyjofkG4
Inside a world where heroes weren’t supposed to show up.
373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1s7aEKgZYo
The kid—Robin—spoke politely.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xLlc7BzKd
“Good evening, miss. Sorry to bother you. I was wondering… do you know how to get to Queen Street?373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kMwk4orZ4
I’m kinda new around here.”
— It was a kid’s voice.
Not a deep-faked adult.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N6ylNr67Q
Not a pitch-shifted recording.
A real teenage voice.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlbiRATV1N
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:373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtJsEj0CAW
Holy shit, he’s actually a kid.
Claire gave him a strange look.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJE08VWGSN
Then pointed toward the street below.
“Walk a hundred meters that way,” she said calmly.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5Gidc67YG
“Then turn right. It’s about two hundred more.”
— Her tone was flat.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡng8k710sUy
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjrBeA0ouo
Walk to it?373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcfbxbKPSL
Swing to it?
She wanted to ask.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeRued7nsO
But felt that if she did, she’d lose a shred of dignity as a normal citizen.
Robin nodded.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBuOXdSU8r
Turned.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwREuZsIP1
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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdbeuo9zJz
Loud.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaLQi7noWH
Ridiculous.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsfp0x8C1W
Undeniable.
Claire said:373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSNPM3k4JS
“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.373Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9W54yN47k
Just a background extra in the scene.
But somehow…
ns216.73.216.64da2
and then Add to home screen.