For the first time, Claire didn’t open the café.
No scent of coffee wafted from her window,89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3QncKDcst
No familiar whir from the bagel press.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoSp4BAnDv
Instead, her hands—usually busy kneading dough by sunrise—were holding a marker,89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22XZ1Fxjx8
Drawing arrows across a whiteboard like she was about to teach a conspiracy seminar.
She hadn’t slept. Not a minute.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilMpPhVJwV
Because Batman had said:89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMh5KyHWlK
“Don’t sleep.”
He’d said it calmly—too calmly.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnB1he2rLN
But the words had made her scalp tighten.
“If you fall asleep, the loop resets.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2GE4OLOJa
What we need tonight is continuity. Not broken memories trapped in the same repeating day.”
“You said everything stays the same every time you wake up.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsU4PzFLcG9
Then that means anything that changes—happens while you're still awake.”
Claire had wanted to push back—“Why does it matter? You’ll forget everything anyway.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobwiGiY6P0
But Batman shook his head, speaking slowly, deliberately:
“You need analysis.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOw60d77q3
You need to practice recounting your data.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdevyfqWkoS
I’ll leave a way to contact me.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9OrenUMbA
But you can’t start from the beginning every time.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGj1zbVSkN
You’ll need to find a way to tell the future-me everything—precisely—and what to do next.”
Claire had just… stared at him.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtgG3sXk91
Because for the first time, someone wasn’t saying she was crazy.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYeyn6Q5i1
He was listening.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmDzi8pSHD
He was thinking.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyXqI4BCKE
He was—Batman.
And being a Gotham native, she felt this absurd, unexpected comfort rise up in her chest:
“At least it’s Batman.”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2Lujd3zyE
If anyone could break the loop, it’d be him.
So she got to work.
Dragged the giant whiteboard her aunt had for some reason left behind from the second floor to the third.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW13hoLK0KX
It was the kind of thing you see in old cram schools—half cracked, fully inconvenient.
Nightwing offered to help.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3s2KLdaoP
They squeezed it up the stairs together, getting stuck at the landing for a moment.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQAN2U5uwJ
He gave her a small glance and asked, voice quiet,89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bGySmV6Nn
“You holding up?”
Claire was not.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQA5mGGP4m
Her arms were shaking.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFLiqRC9Xj
Her eyes were dry.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdGxUujGgT
She felt like she’d downed three energy drinks and was vibrating slightly off-axis.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGp9RXmmZ5
But she still smiled and replied:89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkY5bTVxqY
“I’m good.”
It was a lie for herself.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtBUJ9eqOV
To remember she still could smile. Still could move forward.
Back upstairs, she brewed three coffees and a milk.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0eLSftfZb
Nightwing took his with a polite nod.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkbVQj3oop
Robin sniffed the milk, made a face, and set it down.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkeLG8OpB6k
Batman didn’t touch his cup.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhbRESPmCU
He was already focused on the board.
“Let’s start. When did you first notice something was off?”
Claire stood in front of the board.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUUfL7djq5
The marker hovered just above its surface.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmONTIGOm3
That’s when she realized—89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9NRrHkKdp
Her so-called "clues" were embarrassingly few.
“Uh... at first, nothing big. Thought I was just misremembering stuff,”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwXQo8MYij
“Then I noticed everything was the same. Every single thing. That’s when I started keeping track.”
She told them about the first time Robin knocked on the hotel window.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5AAPCKXJT
About Nightwing showing up on her balcony like clockwork.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yr9HfMX4g
About the cursed bagel swap—the chocolate replaced by plain.
(None of it felt funny anymore.)
Batman didn’t say a word.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGi35kojUn5
He stood, back straight, listening.
After each section, he reached for the marker and jotted a few lines on the board.
She didn’t know if he’d remember any of it.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXrJBaEnCA
But right now—right this second—someone understood her loneliness.
Night fell.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpjnhQcMXo
The coffee went cold.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLU4J3bkhl1
The whiteboard filled up—timelines, branches, points of deviation.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1qQ7X4d5g
Batman stared at it like it was a war map.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtFYh38OYv
Brows drawn, jaw tense.
And Claire—89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsysn6cRZG
For the first time in god-knows-how-many loops—89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtA2QZocAd
wasn’t alone.
She didn’t have to whisper to herself anymore.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGqcWz2TDb
Claire knew she wasn’t that smart.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbUnJkwzxq
No, really.
She stood in front of the giant whiteboard—originally used for notes like “Trash on Tuesday” or “Stop buying potatoes”—now filled to the edges with Batman’s handwriting.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Zf6YXANnE
Tactical terms.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNfKXaV1Zi
Observation protocols.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNU9z8v9wzU
Hypothesis trees.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuogDsRj0UM
Arrow-filled logic webs about time loop mechanics.
Her brain was buzzing like someone turned on a high-frequency hum in her skull.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTnvppDLeW
She could read every word. But when put together, it felt like looking at someone else’s math homework—technically correct, completely unreadable.
Batman had even written her a memory guide.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZL11rkgCxZ
Bullet points.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHinpYVDOh0
Key phrases.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuypdUbZ3X
Color-coded charts.
Didn’t matter.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkgrEbPamf
Once she closed her eyes—gone.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYDfWbAS7Y
Just gone.
So she had to memorize.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxaJFVteEs
Raw memorization.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKreRZopVlr
Claire slammed her pen down on the desk, fingers diving into her tangled hair.
“God, I hate memorizing.”
It was like elementary school all over again—facing a multiplication quiz while still stuck on “7 times 8 is... what again?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70eYE1Io21
Total academic despair.
She glared at the board and forced herself to read it out loud:
- Establish a consistent, simplified daily communication method89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YOnP4iWEo
- Design self-verification protocols89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡapvbhZCaLp
- Identify the rupture point in the time loop89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbm3RkgO1ik
- Develop coping mechanisms for mental strain89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGP9o7qDmn
- Test whether sleep is the trigger for resets89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3nTmqXCiL
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDCp2H3TyP
And below those?89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwEzBPo3ow
Bullet point hell.
Claire nearly burst into tears.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllYlchBRjC
Wasn’t this the kind of thing you hired Batman to do?89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFU2LyUj4QV
She was a bagel-slinging café owner, not a goddamn temporal physicist.
Nightwing and Robin had left around dawn.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAJb5GND51
She’d thought she’d feel relief.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsa9w8RHgCT
She didn’t.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1NNWqabw8
She felt like a balloon blown up way past safe capacity.
And Batman? Still here.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExw9NnQZ3s
Sitting at her tiny desk like he owned it.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MguHaO3Iw
Folding her notes into crisp little squares like some kind of insomnia robot.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jkZcNnrwU
She was starting to believe he didn’t even need sleep.
She had briefly wondered if he’d vanish at sunrise like a vampire or some brooding mythic shadow.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiXevM9cR6
Nope.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8N1Nu3hky
Still here.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOl2VT3Meme
Drank her coffee.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloWT4DxZEC
Ate a croissant.
Batman eats food.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78ONQoxO70
Claire noted this with bewildered internal sarcasm.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK2Sa0TTye
And, somehow… it made her feel a little more human.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhe5pu5GXda
A little more grounded.
Then 2 p.m. hit.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDaZS4nNNI
And she just—couldn’t.
Her head throbbed like someone was banging pots inside it.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xp96Za3cH
A rhythmic BONG—BONG—BONG of pure pain.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtb47dciqhR
Her ears were ringing.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjl314YLlYN
Her vision was starting to blur.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0G3lLQa7p
She hadn’t slept in way too long.
Even Batman’s voice faded into background noise.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCEENkXhZA
She could hear words, but they drifted by like waterlogged scraps of paper.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfpm7hlf1a
No structure. No connection.
Her neck gave out first.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHzEr8eX2I
Then her whole body slumped—soft and useless like an overcooked noodle.
Then she heard it.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nRE9CcwrW
A sigh.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ006Fdu27yb
Low.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosw7WK4PBm
Close.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4d5edu4ycz
The kind of sigh you make when you don’t want to do something… but know you have to.
Then she was being lifted.
That jolt of surprise cleared her vision just long enough to see a pair of blue eyes.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZpgxoFHaC
So blue. So clear.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVIt523Xye
Like the first star that refuses to leave the morning sky.
Nightwing, she thought.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsm93afZEWA
But she couldn’t speak.
From somewhere nearby, Batman’s voice drifted in—calm, slow, final:
“Claire. Remember what I told you.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfEwT0OMxl
Protect yourself first. Then find the truth.”
Someone laid her down.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcKiYJl53R
Pulled the blanket up.
The scent of sunlight-warmed fabric and stale coffee beans wrapped around her.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn62iXVXY6w
Her bed was soft. So soft.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQ4K1d9Sua
And for the first time in what felt like forever—she realized how badly she needed sleep.
Her mind tried to process what she’d forgotten.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JRjAGLn9e
Was there something she needed to say? Do?
Too late.
The dark caught her.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT54yFaLHST
Held her.
Perfectly.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtW69rLFQJ5
Claire was awake. Again.
Same ceiling.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsQ58CTXGm
Same sheets.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZiWC79nav
Same sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXJBTmLBau
Even the dust floating in the air looked copy-pasted from yesterday.
She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then took a long, deep breath.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNybG45OGM
No headache.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqiHcMfFbf
No nausea.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQScSGZbIr
Her whole body felt like someone had swapped it out for a new one. Even her stomach was fine.
Creepy.
Apparently, any sickness will vanish overnight—89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGYDckdgMf
If you're stuck in a time loop.
Day Ten.
She got out of bed, rubbing her temple as she walked. Her thoughts were sluggish, and the words "Day Ten" rolled through her mind like a bowling ball in slow motion—silent but heavy.
She grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote "Day 10" on it with a thick black marker, placing it in the corner of her desk.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XpvQJLeMn
It was her memory thread.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjos5sJEums
Her own little mark carved into an unremembering world.
Day Ten was the day Batman showed up.
Claire looked at the words for a moment, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Guess I’m kind of impressive, huh?"
If people in Gotham knew all it took to summon Batman was repeating the same day ten times, half the city would start dabbling in time magic.
She got dressed, went downstairs, and opened the café.
Today she cleaned the windows extra thoroughly.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjgGC5p7IZ
Then she took out a pink sticky note and scribbled on it:89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMDWM0IKQ9
“Today’s Bagel: Plain.”
She stuck it on the glass, stepped back to check.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9rmJ92ZSn
It stood out.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAkmP0RGkH
Bright and silly. Hard to miss.
Then she frowned.
Wait—why am I even doing this?
No one else would remember.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCdiiO5B1H
Only she knew what day it was.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcxLPJ6IhF
Only she knew today’s bagel was different from yesterday’s.
But Batman had said it:
“You need a daily signal. Something visible. Something subconscious. Something verifiable.”
Maybe, just maybe…89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbATcXhz3Y8
Someday, someone like her might see that note.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlWA8nJj3u
And feel something click.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwicGJmveLT
Some resonance.
Claire snorted.
“No deadlines, infinite time. What a dream.”
Colder than her fridge.
What kind of absurd life was this?89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBt6juWEHql
She felt like a corrupted file stuck in the wrong folder—just looping and glitching.
She glanced at the clock. 9:57.
Her eyes drifted to the door.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtcK0KbUZ5
Her body tensed, that silent alertness creeping in.
Blue-eyed cop.
Batman had asked about him over and over last night—89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrcNaAGKUG
What he wore.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4BJ85D0JT
His tone of voice.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7xDuxkA4u
Which hand he used to take out his wallet.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ark0xlHhI
What angle he walked in from.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPSfMskjqT
How long he looked at the counter.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9KsYnXa7i
The pitch of his thank-you.
“You see this man every day. That means he’s not random. He’s a variable. He’s meaningful.”
Claire stood behind the register, adjusting the screen angle while mentally replaying every word.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuVxDjGOfy
Meaningful. Variable. Breach point.
She wanted to snap back—
“Oh sure, easy for you to say. This isn’t an RPG. How the hell am I supposed to spot a glitch in reality?”
But she didn’t.
She just bit her lip, sorted the coin tray, zipped up the change pouch.
She was still wondering—
Was he Batman’s informant at the station?
She shook her head, started folding a dish towel in half, just as she placed it into the second drawer—
The Door Chimed.
Crisp. On time.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVv5AvoO9Jf
Like it was baked into the script of the day.
Claire’s eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WXBTngCF7
9:59.
The door pushed open.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsS5Uj94xEQ
A familiar pair of blue eyes swept into the room.
They always looked like they carried morning fog—clear, cool, and oddly pure for a city like Gotham.
“Hi, you’re Claire, right? Kyle said the bagels would be out late today. Sent me to pick up the order.”
He smiled—polite, just a touch tired.
Claire didn’t respond right away. She just stared at him.
Stared so long she started to feel like a creep, as if she were peeking at the core of some cosmic mystery that hadn’t realized it was a mystery yet.
Is it you?89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B8KlFKxao
Or are you just another poor guy trying to buy breakfast?
God, she wanted him to be different.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg20Vo4GRKf
Even five minutes late would’ve been something.
But nope.
Right on time.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrGPwpJeyO
Said the exact same line.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYrgjkFeJW
Paid with the same bills.
Claire considered doing a little test.
A spark lit in her head: Batman.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgUZPzYh0O
If this guy was an informant, that name would definitely spark some kind of reaction.
She narrowed her eyes, parted her lips—
Then shut them again.
Nope. Too much.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47ka8BAFGL
You don’t just ask a random cop, “Hey, do you know Batman?”89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97sICvFuMF
That’s how you end up with a referral to a psychiatrist by tomorrow.
Plan B.
She pointed to the pink note on the window.
“Did you see that?”
Blue Eyes blinked, glanced at the window, then nodded.
“Yeah, I saw it.”
But his face clearly read: “Okay… and?”
Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fFiTPmQyF
That one’s not working. Time to upgrade.
She grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a sentence, and slid it across the counter.
“Do you ever feel like the sun today won’t make it to tomorrow?”
She’d spent days refining that line in her head—poetic, haunting, a little tragic.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaalKmXguq
Surely it would hit something.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmNvGWLPOL
Maybe he’d respond: “How did you know?” or “I’ve been feeling the same.”
He read it.
Paused.
Then frowned.
“Uhh… if you ever need someone to talk to, I know a really good therapist.”
Claire, mentally: ……
Great.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vhI0Ce9tO
Another morning, another conversation added to the Folder of Cringe.
She forced a smile.
“Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
He handed her the money, smiled again, and left.
The door shut.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkyGyy76Wt
The chime rang a second time.
Claire remained where she was, staring at the now-empty doorway.
A quiet line drifted through her mind:
Test Result: Inconclusive.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CqW3NUcLQ
Day 10. Blue-Eyed Officer.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYnRBh3SYw
No noticeable deviations.
But hey—89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsK00Wj5EN
At least she tried.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevCq6ghODR
and then Add to home screen.