Tim didn’t want to sleep. He was already on his third cup of coffee tonight.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cg0l5y69G
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFKe95pXaN
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiNoEkisz9
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHycGxwM929
Because the moment he stopped, he would start remembering.
He was doing everything he could to fill the silence.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoI48ZWYoS
Data analysis, checking the armory, organizing mission logs—any trivial task that could keep his mind from drifting to that scene.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoy4fe5HjN
He told himself it was rational. Discipline. Necessary prep work.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNUgrDBkHU
But he knew those were just excuses.
Because the moment he closed his eyes, the memory would return—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHOn7mjq9r
That moment, burned into his brain like a brand. Impossible to shake.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8caemyAr5
Nora, collapsing to the ground. And him, utterly powerless.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGWOkNf0j5
That day, he still believed he was always prepared. Flawless.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDV8rYGeE7g
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZISG2MBx59
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73VAU8vWd6
How could something this absurd be so perfectly timed?103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGxqOPBOVh
And yet, he believed.
Then came the message from the Federation’s Supreme Leader.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNW5ydCWPv
A sincere voice saying:103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXZe94T7ZD
“Tim, don’t worry. Nora has gone back. It won’t be long.”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GF28RYBPl
“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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuu58EXt9yL
He knew she would come back—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuN2JIqAqx4
Logically, the evidence was there. She was still alive. Just “asleep.”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoI5f6ULiC
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAwcoCmTn2
How could he be at peace?
He wasn’t.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUqJAKnjmv
The closer he got to the edge of hope, the more terrified he became that it was all a mirage.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgc6rYfYVQ
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.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqRmj63rOC
Too silent.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmE5xl3mLQ
Like some perfect specimen. Lifeless, yet beautiful.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRIYQy8zJ9
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—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XnQhQWFkK
If I kissed her… would she wake up?103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjP11kOgqmg
The idea was ridiculous. Stupid. But painfully real.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeZ8b3iu7o
He had actually bent closer.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jHtB56x5u
And when he saw the frost on her eyelashes, it was like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0tIDzjQfV
He pulled away.
He had never hated fairy tales so much.
Tim stared at a crime report, forcing himself to analyze.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSe0o7rfsD
He yanked his focus back to reality. Cold data blinked on the screen.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1o0SIB1AY
He used logic like a shield—statements, evaluations, numbers—all to build a wall against memory and feeling.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbHDRa0Opx
Just as he began typing his first tactical summary—
“Beep—”
A sudden sound.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1BBJCdj8R
Not an alarm. But not just background noise either.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzQCL3kadP
He froze, tension snapping through him.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAMQFiPTnn
In the stillness of the Batcave, any sound was jarring.
Tim turned, trying to locate the source.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2bPt68ae8
He thought maybe someone left a communicator behind—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdS0ovWEt9
It wouldn’t be the first time. Jason’s. Damian’s. Even Barbara’s had gone off before.
But this sound...103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEIHg4gwBE
103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFyfEFZPlF
He shot up instantly.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnNgqeei0j
Then stopped himself—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmdiLjfSyD
Don’t get your hopes up.
His breath grew uneven.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdI64dXUfFw
Somewhere deep inside, a tiny ember flickered.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoMW7kI5wc
He clenched his fists, muttering to himself, “Calm down, Tim.”103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kmtRZhDfh
This wasn’t a miracle.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5cKTdHcos
Maybe it was just a malfunction.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyMskto6hB
He forced the thought away. Don’t hope.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmtZWALE9q
Hope was dangerous. The crash of disappointment was unbearable.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTOEPUKI2u
It had happened too many times. One more might shatter him completely.
Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked toward the sound.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP10AZlSAp3
Tim headed toward the corner he often visited—where he sometimes just… sat.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoecNyORzm
His footsteps echoed faintly.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdvUXOsloV
He didn’t dare run. Running meant expectation.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoLEYbfLH4
And expectation was a trap.
That was where the cryo-chamber was.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXmOuGvppE
Each step felt like he was walking over memories.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWRxieMLIz
He knew this place too well.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaqwHhk2w6
He had kept watch here, spent nights here, even nodded off against the wall.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6LUIFxEPk
This room was like an altar.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrM810qn1b
And he was its only mourner.
He stepped in.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSs6pa3TLg
And immediately sensed something was different.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1c1zxlI8pP
Something in the air had shifted.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa80kdFetXD
Like still water suddenly rippled.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8nbqyHfDN
Only he would notice.
The monitors connected to Nora’s vitals had changed.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoizHgiMcqa
He held his breath.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25hQSm4RUy
Eyes darting to the screen.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VeO9edHad
He didn’t dare blink.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZoThi6YHG
Not even for 0.1 seconds.
There it was.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKQ2E4QOAY
Heart rate. Pulse.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwzfTs6R5s
Slow.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUB8mVu8V6
Faint.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9N5R76oSkO
But real.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoi4OHKnshW
Not a glitch.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5W92dhpzI
Not a playback.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF56FNGwc8a
New.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JPAcl015W
Alive.
The machine began to beep—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3OuclMd9Y
Beep, beep, beep—103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKbsGhkj0z
Following the rhythm of her pulse.
In the silence of night, it was the only sound.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNGaKW2rbp
Tim stood frozen.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pI7zDnFco
His whole body tense.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63BuPWnWP4
Lips trembling.
For the first time—he thought that sound was beautiful.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1eniNyjOCN
103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNX7izYjkcC
It was hope.103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfznlR6y8ie
It was her heartbeat.
103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfv4bHwqBjp
and then Add to home screen.