Tim didn’t want to sleep. He was already on his third cup of coffee tonight.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdCOPXYNhF
His movements were mechanical, void of emotion, as he brought the rim of the cup to his lips. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, bringing no sense of alertness—only a faint ache in his stomach. He knew this wasn’t helping, but he’d rather suffer stomach pain than close his eyes.
Batman had already finished his patrol. Everyone else had gone to rest.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3V9OJydOQU
The Batcave felt like it had been swallowed by the night. Only the warning lights flickered occasionally, casting flashes of red into the dark. The computer screen glowed faint blue, illuminating Tim’s face in a pale hue. Somewhere upstairs, Alfred probably still had a lamp on—but that had nothing to do with him. At this moment, he was the only one awake.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpObXnyuFYS
The only one sitting quietly in the cave, eyes fixed on the screen.
His gaze was focused. His fingers tapped the keyboard now and then, producing a steady rhythm. Lines of data and images flickered on the screen. He forced himself to keep reading. Don’t stop.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgA4YpZYAs
Because the moment he stopped, he would start remembering.
He was doing everything he could to fill the silence.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iXxQWaQU7
Data analysis, checking the armory, organizing mission logs—any trivial task that could keep his mind from drifting to that scene.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0dKBdTqEp
He told himself it was rational. Discipline. Necessary prep work.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6g4l8H9tO
But he knew those were just excuses.
Because the moment he closed his eyes, the memory would return—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMUeD51n9h
That moment, burned into his brain like a brand. Impossible to shake.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnV3frHqeQO
Nora, collapsing to the ground. And him, utterly powerless.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbOsMhM4ih
That day, he still believed he was always prepared. Flawless.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDN2fDDpfK
And yet, he couldn’t even save the one person who mattered most.
He once thought himself the calmest among them. Now, he couldn’t even finish blaming himself.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3S9XmvIObm
Even after receiving the gift meant for Damian—sent from ten thousand years ago—a relic from a long-lost civilization, like time itself was mocking him, delivering hope from the ancient past... and all he could do now was wait.
Tim had been shocked. And suspicious.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX5rnZVtKB
How could something this absurd be so perfectly timed?102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1s0YQmX92S
And yet, he believed.
Then came the message from the Federation’s Supreme Leader.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPLUb7GYNm
A sincere voice saying:102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawVZnK0VYL
“Tim, don’t worry. Nora has gone back. It won’t be long.”102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPtD4ua1eN
“She won’t end here.”
But Tim couldn’t fully trust it. He no longer dared to believe. Belief was fragile. It shattered too easily.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjDvzQRbE0
He knew she would come back—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopZnDnLKjH
Logically, the evidence was there. She was still alive. Just “asleep.”102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNFoxMZWM2
But emotionally, he was still trapped in that moment—trapped in the image of her falling.
She hadn’t come back yet. She hadn’t spoken. She hadn’t opened her eyes.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMdusOJqS8
How could he be at peace?
He wasn’t.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3Tyf7PHzm
The closer he got to the edge of hope, the more terrified he became that it was all a mirage.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwl4xN3VfQ
He didn’t know whether he was waiting for her to wake up—or for himself to fall apart.
She still lay in the cryo-chamber. A sleeping beauty.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IqZroRuG7
Too silent.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCJGeY7hHi
Like some perfect specimen. Lifeless, yet beautiful.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesfYs2LVAA
He hated himself for the thought—but he couldn’t deny that, in one brief moment, he’d imagined how she might look if she opened her eyes.
He had even leaned down once, staring at her—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogjnspBaDD
If I kissed her… would she wake up?102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdfK1AFZNU
The idea was ridiculous. Stupid. But painfully real.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAmuTEfIDp
He had actually bent closer.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HQ43kZkjU
And when he saw the frost on her eyelashes, it was like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetAMzSEYus
He pulled away.
He had never hated fairy tales so much.
Tim stared at a crime report, forcing himself to analyze.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZGMLcQF1Z
He yanked his focus back to reality. Cold data blinked on the screen.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgho5StOUKe
He used logic like a shield—statements, evaluations, numbers—all to build a wall against memory and feeling.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHKw95Obpf
Just as he began typing his first tactical summary—
“Beep—”
A sudden sound.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZdBNBBKLf
Not an alarm. But not just background noise either.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0j9coVvlmL
He froze, tension snapping through him.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgu5ZM9h1Z
In the stillness of the Batcave, any sound was jarring.
Tim turned, trying to locate the source.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEHKgJbQMn
He thought maybe someone left a communicator behind—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekvWrjT2oy
It wouldn’t be the first time. Jason’s. Damian’s. Even Barbara’s had gone off before.
But this sound...102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTcUDKbKKi
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzyO5v7vcI
He shot up instantly.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5jEmRohZm
Then stopped himself—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQT1VRaYgDJ
Don’t get your hopes up.
His breath grew uneven.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pyOzC6185
Somewhere deep inside, a tiny ember flickered.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60GfBQGuDU
He clenched his fists, muttering to himself, “Calm down, Tim.”102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyD4Q0AOPA
This wasn’t a miracle.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrXMKU9JYM
Maybe it was just a malfunction.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsl6tm96j1
He forced the thought away. Don’t hope.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSogLlLFCa
Hope was dangerous. The crash of disappointment was unbearable.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3qc5S7lwD
It had happened too many times. One more might shatter him completely.
Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked toward the sound.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFWdTfryNd
Tim headed toward the corner he often visited—where he sometimes just… sat.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT35glrlcd6
His footsteps echoed faintly.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHXte7LS5C
He didn’t dare run. Running meant expectation.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVkSxjhFJe
And expectation was a trap.
That was where the cryo-chamber was.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5IdjJ6rah
Each step felt like he was walking over memories.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57xnkH9iPY
He knew this place too well.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3llFFlSpBw
He had kept watch here, spent nights here, even nodded off against the wall.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzHfUpKKPW
This room was like an altar.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwapnN0D0Jd
And he was its only mourner.
He stepped in.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XH30I6rAv
And immediately sensed something was different.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRX5LTt55DB
Something in the air had shifted.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpbjufom1C
Like still water suddenly rippled.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqe8cyaW5FJ
Only he would notice.
The monitors connected to Nora’s vitals had changed.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwC54cejHaJ
He held his breath.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcKLrm8Xey
Eyes darting to the screen.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5w32hh87j
He didn’t dare blink.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3YDmPC4iT
Not even for 0.1 seconds.
There it was.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3gxVIsK28
Heart rate. Pulse.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4pTvhXfrw
Slow.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEw5gNhxBA
Faint.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmodhyej2KS
But real.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjowRETuoob
Not a glitch.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq9A6BbGQm
Not a playback.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUVf9TYG8t
New.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBSRNAEXIP
Alive.
The machine began to beep—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfPuGBx6d0
Beep, beep, beep—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDJINifXGT
Following the rhythm of her pulse.
In the silence of night, it was the only sound.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuHJPWY4kT
Tim stood frozen.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYl0CzxoRTY
His whole body tense.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHBP6ss1f0
Lips trembling.
For the first time—he thought that sound was beautiful.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VSRdk0J2K
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKp5GtJM034
It was hope.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3h5SS2PQm
It was her heartbeat.
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIMg6KJVtl
and then Add to home screen.