Claire passed by the church.
It was surprisingly full.
She hesitated.45Please respect copyright.PENANADDKUriEDHL
Didn’t plan to stop, but glanced through the open doors anyway.
Right—today was Easter.
Evening service.45Please respect copyright.PENANAcnO4ALqV98
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANAMlpfccuw0m
Too bad it didn’t make the front page.45Please respect copyright.PENANA1rYKmVmpzT
Nightwing’s butt did.
If every reset counted as a resurrection, she had Jesus beat.
— Jesus came back once.45Please respect copyright.PENANAKDGhYlcdSK
She came back every damn day.45Please respect copyright.PENANAPCuJgUmKvM
No crucifixion required. Just the same bed, the same morning, the same jazz.
No blood.45Please respect copyright.PENANAKdiCEozPLd
No wounds.45Please respect copyright.PENANAsu85aF8Qum
Not even symbolic suffering.45Please respect copyright.PENANANshgTiUdyj
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANACB4xZceOUf
She caught a trace of perfume and smoked ham in the air.45Please respect copyright.PENANAVA63GjSMhQ
Warm.45Please respect copyright.PENANAgEl4uIauEM
Distant.
She didn’t look back.45Please respect copyright.PENANAKPYJq9qXmr
Didn’t slow down.45Please respect copyright.PENANAGJYOe6KkP2
Just pulled her jacket tighter around herself—trying not to look like someone on the run.
45Please respect copyright.PENANAkmIVCaJcDZ
She’d picked up some sushi and salad on the way.45Please respect copyright.PENANAzrygExMTqQ
Not because she was hungry.45Please respect copyright.PENANAX3Jx8rBsCa
Just… preemptive.45Please respect copyright.PENANAhwxFUxUWyJ
— A biological necessity.45Please respect copyright.PENANAK4zA8Xp7Tg
Eating was proof she still had a plan, even if it didn’t taste like one.
The motel looked old.
Faded walls.45Please respect copyright.PENANA5yxSSYEuMD
Window frames weathered like they’d been kissed by thirty years of ocean wind.45Please respect copyright.PENANAjGoFuHbybP
But the sign worked.45Please respect copyright.PENANAdxzrJyIFXK
The light stayed on.45Please respect copyright.PENANAJb2TmDxX8I
No flickers.
The online reviews had been solid.
— 4.5 stars for cleanliness.45Please respect copyright.PENANAFpw2avHUK4
Quiet.45Please respect copyright.PENANA5ZHO3Q0E4e
No weird comments.45Please respect copyright.PENANA68Ve6pocns
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANAG01Sm7L7EI
The window was proof: I still believe in a future.
She paid. Got the key. Sixth floor.
The elevator hummed with old energy.45Please respect copyright.PENANA5WhPFU4i6m
The lights inside were yellow—not the cozy kind, but the nicotine-stained kind.
She entered the room.
Locked the door.
Exhaled.
— Quiet.
45Please respect copyright.PENANAEGw9mQeAK7
Locked.45Please respect copyright.PENANAouayuGf3Hn
New bed.45Please respect copyright.PENANAkiRcf9jpXO
New air.
It might all be gone tomorrow.45Please respect copyright.PENANA0UBjcW0Kv6
But right now, she wasn’t home.45Please respect copyright.PENANAfc0ySOcuT0
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANAL5f2MqWdGH
But she followed the routine.45Please respect copyright.PENANABKsUpfrWTg
— Eat first.45Please respect copyright.PENANAFSSRv74hY8
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANASTMuy8qAow
Not just a blur of motion.
It was a person.
Weight.45Please respect copyright.PENANApGYFMXJ79o
Posture.45Please respect copyright.PENANANm90fBthrD
Presence.
Her body locked up.
She should have ducked.
Instead, she recognized him immediately.
Robin.
— Red. Green. Yellow.45Please respect copyright.PENANABMx02cdWBW
That mask.45Please respect copyright.PENANAs8bULoMZOM
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANACJdr1pbtIC
Or patrolling.
His cape fluttered in the breeze.45Please respect copyright.PENANA9sBnLLMoDr
The darkness carved his silhouette sharp against the city lights.
Then he noticed her.
A woman.45Please respect copyright.PENANAcK63bceT3K
Staring blankly at him.
Robin tilted his head.
Turned.45Please respect copyright.PENANAmm6Fvn4yNV
Tapped gently on the glass.
— Not a warning.45Please respect copyright.PENANA9I4TwSDffr
Not a threat.45Please respect copyright.PENANAqT1IFzIxUC
Just a soft “I see you” kind of knock.
Claire opened the window like she was sleepwalking.
— Her hand moved first.45Please respect copyright.PENANAcAR4eEwsOD
Her brain was still buffering.
It didn’t make sense.
Which made it impossible to react.
Robin was standing right there.
Not on TV.45Please respect copyright.PENANAmHTLQYo5o2
Not in a news segment.45Please respect copyright.PENANA9rxb2LYdTH
No crowd.45Please respect copyright.PENANARaalaSl97X
No distance.
Just… there.
Looking at her.
Like he already knew she’d be here.
A kid.
— Sorry, Claire thought. But yeah.45Please respect copyright.PENANAfdWMfDaPZZ
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANAB3onuA65TZ
Inside a world where heroes weren’t supposed to show up.
45Please respect copyright.PENANAWHWI3IrckE
The kid—Robin—spoke politely.45Please respect copyright.PENANAa8CuDzWzyx
“Good evening, miss. Sorry to bother you. I was wondering… do you know how to get to Queen Street?45Please respect copyright.PENANA0FZxqFnVh2
I’m kinda new around here.”
— It was a kid’s voice.
Not a deep-faked adult.45Please respect copyright.PENANAfeXiyAGiFn
Not a pitch-shifted recording.
A real teenage voice.45Please respect copyright.PENANAwspLgb6bFJ
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:45Please respect copyright.PENANAJEno4c4efK
Holy shit, he’s actually a kid.
Claire gave him a strange look.45Please respect copyright.PENANApgz5Y3zmvQ
Then pointed toward the street below.
“Walk a hundred meters that way,” she said calmly.45Please respect copyright.PENANAJ9fLEGgkuH
“Then turn right. It’s about two hundred more.”
— Her tone was flat.45Please respect copyright.PENANAjqLHNZAVOv
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANA8ft9SON7q0
Walk to it?45Please respect copyright.PENANA9TwYSXypvj
Swing to it?
She wanted to ask.45Please respect copyright.PENANAxLYbhrFvaY
But felt that if she did, she’d lose a shred of dignity as a normal citizen.
Robin nodded.45Please respect copyright.PENANA1GNp8ECChc
Turned.45Please respect copyright.PENANAJKQfMfShAm
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.45Please respect copyright.PENANAELLYO8yJ3l
Loud.45Please respect copyright.PENANAPa6l1apane
Ridiculous.45Please respect copyright.PENANAn0YCAfwuyf
Undeniable.
Claire said:45Please respect copyright.PENANAcOZwo8l9xw
“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.45Please respect copyright.PENANAlioDkoSlRZ
Just a background extra in the scene.
But somehow…
ns216.73.216.252da2