INTERLUDE: WATCHFUL EYES

The clock tower was quiet, the hum of Gotham below—sirens, distant traffic, the occasional gunshot—muted by the height. Inside, the glow of monitors cast long shadows across the room, illuminating an array of screens filled with security feeds, maps, and shifting lines of code.  

Barbara Gordon leaned back in her chair, arms crossed as she studied one particular feed: grainy footage from the East Docks, replaying the same sequence over and over. A fight in the dark. Two figures moving in sync. The way they took down Penguin’s men, the way she—Taylor Hebert, or Wraith as she went by now—handled herself.  

She exhaled.

“Batman needs to know about her.”

The words hung in the air for a moment before Nightwing sighed on the other end of the line. “Yeah,” he admitted, his voice low. “I know.”  

Barbara glanced at another screen—more footage, this time of a different fight, a different night. “You’ve already spoken to her. What’s your read?” she asked, her tone neutral.  

“She’s smart. Focused. Not just some angry kid throwing punches—she has a plan.” His voice was thoughtful, but there was an edge to it. “And she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty.”

Barbara watched as Taylor knocked out Lark, as she made the call to the GCPD and tossed the burner phone away without hesitation. “That’s what worries me.”

Nightwing was quiet.

“She’s already drawing attention,” Barbara pressed. “And in Gotham, people like her don’t last long.”

“I know.”

Barbara hesitated, then spoke carefully. “You think she can be brought in?”

Nightwing didn’t answer right away. He’d seen Taylor in action, spoken to her. There was something in the way she carried herself—too experienced, too wary. Like someone who had already made peace with being on her own. With carrying the world on her shoulders alone. 

“I don’t think she’s looking for that,” he admitted.

Barbara tapped her fingers against the desk, her expression unreadable. “Then Batman really needs to know.”  

Nightwing let out another breath, reluctant but resigned.

“I’ll tell him.”