Claire saw the shock in his face.
His pupils dilated, eyebrows shot up,9Please respect copyright.PENANAZFmnmRXajR
like he’d just seen something that shouldn’t exist in this world.9Please respect copyright.PENANAPWIG8dVpfp
A mix of disbelief and worry twisted his expression—9Please respect copyright.PENANAlJ4dr3tB1a
even his mouth twitched a little.
But she didn’t care what he saw.9Please respect copyright.PENANAMRHSPi9fSf
Claire’s heartbeat was still pounding from the quake.9Please respect copyright.PENANAAqk42kaCLQ
There was only one thing left in her mind:9Please respect copyright.PENANAflOace1yzg
Get out.9Please respect copyright.PENANA9dg0GLZaD7
Now.
She shoved his hands off, pulled herself free from his arms.9Please respect copyright.PENANAaNjyLB8h8e
It wasn’t graceful—9Please respect copyright.PENANATjXlypcdVo
she practically crashed out of that embrace,9Please respect copyright.PENANAqUgqn1NsC4
her chest still rattling with leftover tremors.9Please respect copyright.PENANAcfuJ9tc01x
She didn’t care.
He said,
“Wait—”
It wasn’t loud.9Please respect copyright.PENANAWii1IDPL5X
It was quiet, pleading, instinctive.9Please respect copyright.PENANAmkwCoSgOHy
But to Claire, it sounded like some pointless prayer.
Wait, my ass, she thought.
She was furious now.9Please respect copyright.PENANAXcJhlXz7DI
She hadn’t come here to wait.9Please respect copyright.PENANAG0syWeDWYy
She wasn’t someone to be protected.
She stormed to the door.
Grabbed the handle.9Please respect copyright.PENANAAAk8O4Odbl
Yanked hard.9Please respect copyright.PENANAuI2gPMD6In
No finesse—just pure, animal panic.9Please respect copyright.PENANAYBaAhBqX1H
Like trying to tear open the edge of reality.
But it didn’t budge.
The door groaned—9Please respect copyright.PENANAWYnlz2eyPX
a horrible creaking, like something was gummed up in the cracks.9Please respect copyright.PENANAIqBPnztcth
Claire didn’t believe it.9Please respect copyright.PENANAyupWnnIKyr
Used her other hand.9Please respect copyright.PENANAZ33dU1zwK3
Pushed harder.
Every muscle in her body tensed.9Please respect copyright.PENANAKYZHCrdEfu
Shoulder against the door.9Please respect copyright.PENANAbBa6ZvWghm
Feet braced.9Please respect copyright.PENANAeokso1lSNe
She looked like a beast caged for too long—9Please respect copyright.PENANAdG8j0GgjgC
and the only thing in her eyes was escape.
Still nothing.
She gritted her teeth.9Please respect copyright.PENANAE11kabV74i
Her palms reddened.9Please respect copyright.PENANAj10a9I3SJw
Her arms shook.
She was about to lose it.
Then the officer came up beside her.9Please respect copyright.PENANApcww8eb47z
He didn’t say a word.9Please respect copyright.PENANAO6cMrrTSHv
Just reached for the handle, adding his strength to hers.
They pulled—together.
Their breathing was all over the place,9Please respect copyright.PENANAhTdjwdHdc5
but their rhythm began to sync,9Please respect copyright.PENANAIDuq9Oqr5W
two struggling bodies tugging in perfect time.
Then, finally—
A ding.
A clear chime rang out from the alert bell above the door,9Please respect copyright.PENANA37NDZ6NRED
as if the universe had just issued permission to flee.
Claire could hear her own pulse echo in her ears.
The door opened.
Cold air blasted in—9Please respect copyright.PENANAja1hcf0R6g
like a beast breaking out of its cage.9Please respect copyright.PENANA5t4n4mNPah
The world outside was chaotic,9Please respect copyright.PENANAF7FOSoOnAf
but it still felt better than the warped, rattling room behind her.
Claire didn’t stop to breathe.9Please respect copyright.PENANA3JvFQlHZ9d
She ran.9Please respect copyright.PENANAIRrplscNss
Didn’t even wait to steady her steps—9Please respect copyright.PENANAUAKGZVlvoP
her whole body was moving on instinct,9Please respect copyright.PENANAnFvacL3sYQ
as if chasing something…9Please respect copyright.PENANA3I3Vxs5kZT
or escaping it.
The street was full of confused people.
Someone yelling into a phone.9Please respect copyright.PENANA937A2DYi9H
Someone staring at shattered glass.9Please respect copyright.PENANAFDD0obRicr
Someone gripping an umbrella, frozen in place.
Everyone trying to process what just happened—9Please respect copyright.PENANAHt2XUlNVU7
but all their thoughts were trapped at street level.
No one looked up.
Claire felt that old, familiar loneliness wrap around her again.9Please respect copyright.PENANAVodd41JSp2
Even if the sky split in half,9Please respect copyright.PENANA8491FjY3NL
no one would see it.
Only she knew it was there.
She stopped.9Please respect copyright.PENANA0hMxCMHhZs
Tilted her head back.9Please respect copyright.PENANAqQtsF9aNlH
Took a deep breath.9Please respect copyright.PENANAqveXdpUvBP
Closed her eyes.9Please respect copyright.PENANAZj4pyfQmFI
And shifted into the Observer.
The tear in the sky was leaking something—9Please respect copyright.PENANAXKu9Tyu3nO
slow as syrup.9Please respect copyright.PENANAW3GCC0Pfoj
Something was dripping out.
Not a natural phenomenon.9Please respect copyright.PENANAzZMjXBBP2g
More like... something sick, pulling itself into shape.9Please respect copyright.PENANAokhYDvQtXS
Sluggish.9Please respect copyright.PENANAxXYo762E9H
Inevitable.
Vile purple.
Thick like vomit.9Please respect copyright.PENANALbNkcnzzfn
A cursed color.9Please respect copyright.PENANAAJev0oK3Rx
She could almost smell it—9Please respect copyright.PENANAFzwLRoGRC5
metal, rot, humidity, chaos.
Some of the syrup had already reached the ground.
It was corroding the street.9Please respect copyright.PENANA0hd6rEnHy4
Smoke.9Please respect copyright.PENANAP7SqJxw9JF
Sludge.9Please respect copyright.PENANACnUSYOfSrz
Tentacle-like forms.
People screamed.9Please respect copyright.PENANAjqGy61W5eb
Some still thought it was just a busted pipe.
One blob dangled just above Claire’s head.9Please respect copyright.PENANAooQ79pgHPS
Not quite touching the ground—9Please respect copyright.PENANAbMCtYVqs4z
it wavered in the air, like sniffing.9Please respect copyright.PENANAUKyjLFLF4z
Like it had chosen her.
She felt its attention.9Please respect copyright.PENANAPn9sXbxPZF
Knew it was watching.
She looked around.
The blue-eyed officer was also looking up—9Please respect copyright.PENANAHL5qWQFSvy
trying to follow her gaze.9Please respect copyright.PENANAOAtCNceNOV
Confused.
He saw nothing.
Claire moved.
She snatched the gun from his waist.9Please respect copyright.PENANAS16Rfk8BeP
Aimed it skyward.
Fast.9Please respect copyright.PENANAz72DvI7FE6
Silent.9Please respect copyright.PENANA2E6pdVm6iZ
Her fingers moved like she'd rehearsed it a hundred times.
She felt him try to stop her,9Please respect copyright.PENANAfl6rathJVC
but it was too late.
She was already in position.
“Wait—!”
His voice cracked with panic.
He hadn’t expected her to actually do it.
His eyes were wide with fear.
But Claire—9Please respect copyright.PENANAzmFHeUG3Bp
Claire’s eyes were empty.
Just calm.9Please respect copyright.PENANAgRgyOHyUuV
And decision.
Too late.
She already had the gun
9Please respect copyright.PENANAFBzyOIX4aq
She didn’t look back.
Just tightened her grip around the cold weight in her hand.9Please respect copyright.PENANA432aHEVuXB
She knew this feeling.9Please respect copyright.PENANA7AiyRqY8r6
The weight of the gun.9Please respect copyright.PENANAJxl7mi2mfU
The click of the safety.9Please respect copyright.PENANA4JeCtTOec7
Exactly where the catch was.
Bad in strength?9Please respect copyright.PENANAbRsyNMA6HB
Make it up in skill.
She’d long given up trying to win with brute force—9Please respect copyright.PENANArwa45q3pW8
but technique?9Please respect copyright.PENANAuRWJh9TABe
Her technique never failed her.9Please respect copyright.PENANAhlPYwK1I7v
Form, angle, purpose—everything precise.
She was, after all, the one Batman personally added to the emergency combat class.
Originally it was just a one-time workshop.9Please respect copyright.PENANAZeKesdUPZL
Then Batman took one look at her and said,
“Add her.”
No one laughed.
Everyone knew what that meant.9Please respect copyright.PENANAW0Y6TEsXjb
It meant:9Please respect copyright.PENANA4PJce0EuV6
“You’re not good enough—9Please respect copyright.PENANAq8zIYWDbnd
but you might need to fight first.”
Those sessions nearly killed her.
Especially the first few.9Please respect copyright.PENANAXEu2NztiBZ
Batman just stood there and said coldly,
“If you can’t get through this,9Please respect copyright.PENANAGKMfmxA0u9
this world isn’t yours to look at.”
She vomited on the mat.9Please respect copyright.PENANA3oieVh2xQi
Tore the skin off her palms.9Please respect copyright.PENANAS7aYyB2MyS
Blacked out once from getting slammed too hard.
And Batman?9Please respect copyright.PENANArxlUvyT6Fe
Didn’t flinch.9Please respect copyright.PENANAUrzAHltzyr
Just said,
“Get up. Again.”
She remembered thinking:
If I don’t get up, the world ends.
Her sparring partner?
Robin.
The kid had zero chill—9Please respect copyright.PENANAmh4f56RI1f
but perfect accuracy.9Please respect copyright.PENANAXPH4pDcdIn
Each correction hit like a needle to her reflexes.
He also taught her how to handle guns.
How to tell the difference between a threat and a survival shot.9Please respect copyright.PENANAFy3H3fM4wf
How to know when it’s time.
He once told her,
“If you’re going to shoot—don’t hesitate.”
Technically, Nightwing was supposed to be her trainer.9Please respect copyright.PENANAcEFwFRSn7K
But an hour in, Batman barked,
“Switch. Robin.”
Nightwing had been too gentle.9Please respect copyright.PENANATLpxfwTH40
Too smiley.9Please respect copyright.PENANAGUd7Yl4wyD
Too… encouraging.
Claire almost thought she was in barista orientation.
Robin later said Nightwing had
“too many hand gestures,9Please respect copyright.PENANAQsoPLO18xc
too much explaining,9Please respect copyright.PENANApF8BKvBSlm
and a face that made people want to trust him.”
Batman stood in the back, deadpan.
“Robin.”
So now—
Safety off. Chamber loaded.
Her fingers flicked,9Please respect copyright.PENANAwXKDTWVLRP
metal clicked.9Please respect copyright.PENANAzNQvolZ8n5
A sharp ka-clack9Please respect copyright.PENANA79xqlrrQqw
like her heart syncing into a new tempo.
The air thickened.9Please respect copyright.PENANA6QdhgFk9vU
Noise faded.
Claire closed her eyes.
Raised the gun.
And fired at the sludge hanging from the sky.
BANG.9Please respect copyright.PENANA92m6qT78wF