Tim didn’t want to sleep. He was already on his third cup of coffee tonight.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTdUCtt9Sy
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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcTlpnmf31
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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIx88F8jeFC
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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSbv0DTzlf
Because the moment he stopped, he would start remembering.
He was doing everything he could to fill the silence.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHzsn52scF
Data analysis, checking the armory, organizing mission logs—any trivial task that could keep his mind from drifting to that scene.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdoBqSKpB5
He told himself it was rational. Discipline. Necessary prep work.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcwrfri0hW
But he knew those were just excuses.
Because the moment he closed his eyes, the memory would return—107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpe7Wj96cx
That moment, burned into his brain like a brand. Impossible to shake.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomNHUz9xga
Nora, collapsing to the ground. And him, utterly powerless.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVc7vL8Y6g6
That day, he still believed he was always prepared. Flawless.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvzSJaw3ao
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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZApALVEaCx
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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfPxnoOqal
How could something this absurd be so perfectly timed?107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxtPUehNMP
And yet, he believed.
Then came the message from the Federation’s Supreme Leader.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAURC57aOZ
A sincere voice saying:107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnDAP7Fbsk
“Tim, don’t worry. Nora has gone back. It won’t be long.”107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8SCv121Nc
“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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXFAcTbnYf
He knew she would come back—107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPXufEBv4m
Logically, the evidence was there. She was still alive. Just “asleep.”107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp7xEzPmtl
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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLooCH9YAcD
How could he be at peace?
He wasn’t.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlXw84sDdG
The closer he got to the edge of hope, the more terrified he became that it was all a mirage.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZwS7hnv2m
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.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DQB4CG2xm
Too silent.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZAYVmhzxS
Like some perfect specimen. Lifeless, yet beautiful.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdjrUUzX59
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—107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHgUTsIzhY
If I kissed her… would she wake up?107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjj3dncbZE
The idea was ridiculous. Stupid. But painfully real.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEdIGrh30g
He had actually bent closer.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4IdqW5pfs
And when he saw the frost on her eyelashes, it was like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsbUstbzem
He pulled away.
He had never hated fairy tales so much.
Tim stared at a crime report, forcing himself to analyze.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVY1FzShFY
He yanked his focus back to reality. Cold data blinked on the screen.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HDzyOFfPO
He used logic like a shield—statements, evaluations, numbers—all to build a wall against memory and feeling.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3Fro0SJcd
Just as he began typing his first tactical summary—
“Beep—”
A sudden sound.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdL2v1v0sCf
Not an alarm. But not just background noise either.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoUxzZMH2G
He froze, tension snapping through him.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMJVMXjBhc
In the stillness of the Batcave, any sound was jarring.
Tim turned, trying to locate the source.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP48n7i1Cpr
He thought maybe someone left a communicator behind—107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqbdlb8a2Z
It wouldn’t be the first time. Jason’s. Damian’s. Even Barbara’s had gone off before.
But this sound...107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dUKAl7qY4
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2bz01FJJd
He shot up instantly.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3rp4Vce5q
Then stopped himself—107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAfG8dXQdA
Don’t get your hopes up.
His breath grew uneven.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFpgSqTL78
Somewhere deep inside, a tiny ember flickered.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa41g6RxGHb
He clenched his fists, muttering to himself, “Calm down, Tim.”107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9cq4FAvmu
This wasn’t a miracle.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1jxZCdO4j
Maybe it was just a malfunction.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk3KtYDUf2
He forced the thought away. Don’t hope.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Og3oGnKVD
Hope was dangerous. The crash of disappointment was unbearable.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8k4JEAspoZ
It had happened too many times. One more might shatter him completely.
Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked toward the sound.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXwrNQqNoL
Tim headed toward the corner he often visited—where he sometimes just… sat.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOm252rGcB6
His footsteps echoed faintly.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEgipxekXd
He didn’t dare run. Running meant expectation.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Eyy23cv89
And expectation was a trap.
That was where the cryo-chamber was.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3vI8xkQSs
Each step felt like he was walking over memories.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkErX6KwfsQ
He knew this place too well.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAGUr2idQf
He had kept watch here, spent nights here, even nodded off against the wall.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75liHkGnHn
This room was like an altar.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdpvCyDs4a
And he was its only mourner.
He stepped in.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGxrfGinxu
And immediately sensed something was different.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9h3bhCzGQR
Something in the air had shifted.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QJ0pGDJpm
Like still water suddenly rippled.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvq9mMDOV4
Only he would notice.
The monitors connected to Nora’s vitals had changed.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUf18PAE6p
He held his breath.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSO5sKguhN4
Eyes darting to the screen.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4LO5tcoNi
He didn’t dare blink.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvlFrD3HZE
Not even for 0.1 seconds.
There it was.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHVfe2m2BR
Heart rate. Pulse.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumRUX0gqJy
Slow.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rCQ84xGjP
Faint.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDqkh801iZ
But real.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4Rz6ijPEy
Not a glitch.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3faC0oMKEl
Not a playback.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe094PBXGAG
New.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWeFDTeggj
Alive.
The machine began to beep—107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVHyfWXwZ9
Beep, beep, beep—107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriQaDwrWIP
Following the rhythm of her pulse.
In the silence of night, it was the only sound.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbitf0Zyvs
Tim stood frozen.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNNKQqjGow
His whole body tense.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2jM7QaRvo
Lips trembling.
For the first time—he thought that sound was beautiful.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOfnMj8PNp
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdHZVS3uyL
It was hope.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrK5zeGn7QL
It was her heartbeat.
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyh1e5xpN6K
and then Add to home screen.