INTERLUDE

By the Taylor and Robin regrouped with the others on a rooftop, the worst of the chaos had been contained. The Bat-family had managed to stop most of the League’s strikes, but the damage was done. Several key locations had been hit, and Gotham was left reeling from the coordinated assault.

Taylor stood apart from the others, her thoughts racing. She could still feel the lingering anger and frustration from the confrontation with the woman—her faulty control that left her helpless. She had decided to stay in Gotham to make a difference, to prove that she could be more than what she had been in Brockton Bay. But now, she wasn’t so sure.

“Hey.”

She turned to see Robin standing beside her.

“Hey,” Taylor replied, her voice quieter than she intended.

Robin studied her for a moment, his mask hiding his eyes, but she could feel the weight of his scrutiny. “You did what you could tonight,” he said finally, his tone neutral but carrying an edge of something softer beneath the surface.

Taylor shook her head, letting out a bitter laugh. “What I could wasn’t enough. I couldn’t even keep up when it mattered.”

“You’re not wrong,” he said bluntly. “Your combat is still sloppy, and you hesitate when you shouldn’t.”

She stiffened, the frustration bubbling back to the surface. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Robin tilted his head, his frown sharp but not unkind. “I’m not saying this to tear you down or rub it in. I’m saying it because I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. You’re better than this.”

Taylor let his words sink in, the frustration in her chest simmering into something closer to resignation. She folded her arms, glancing toward the skyline, where the last trails of smoke were fading into the night.

“This city doesn’t wait for anyone to catch up,” she said, her voice low. “Every time I think I’m making progress, something else goes wrong. My powers… they’ve been unreliable. I don’t know why. It’s like trying to grab something that’s just out of reach.”

Robin was quiet for a moment, then stepped closer. “You’re right—Gotham doesn’t wait. But you’re here anyway, doing what most people wouldn’t even try to do. That takes guts.”

She glanced at him, surprised by the honesty in his tone. “Guts don’t count for much when people are depending on you and you can’t deliver.”

He crossed his arms, mirroring her stance. “They count for more than you think. You’ve already made a difference. The people in your neighborhood? They believe in you.”

Taylor looked away, the weight of his words settling on her shoulders. “And if I let them down?”

“Then you get back up,” Robin said simply. “Because that’s what we do.”

“But my powers…”

Robin shook his head. “Your powers don’t define you, Swarm Queen. They never did. You got this far because you’re smart, because you know how to lead, how to fight. Powers or not, that hasn’t changed.”

Taylor didn’t respond immediately. She wanted to believe him, but the doubt was still there, gnawing at the edges of her confidence.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she admitted quietly. “Not without my powers.”

Robin’s expression hardened, but there was no trace of judgment in his voice when he spoke. “Then figure out how to fight without them. Or figure out a way to utilise your insects without taxing yourself. We haven't known each other for long, but I know you enough to know you don’t give up.”

She glanced at him, surprised by the unexpected encouragement. For all his arrogance and sharp edges, Robin had a way of cutting through the noise, of reminding her why she was here.

“Thanks,” she said, the word feeling strange but genuine.

Robin gave a small nod. “We’ll stop Ra’s. And we’ll do it together.”

Processing his words, Taylor allowed herself a moment to breathe. The doubt was still there, but it didn’t feel as heavy now. Robin was right, even if he didn't know why.

She wasn’t Khepri anymore—and that included her parahuman powers. She wasn't the person she used to be. The power she once wielded with terrifying precision was gone, leaving her to scrape by on scraps of what remained. In its absence, she was forced to rely on skills she hadn’t needed much before, to fight battles without the overwhelming force she had once commanded.

It was humbling, infuriating, and—if she was honest with herself—a relief. She didn’t miss being Khepri. She didn’t miss the weight of the world pressing down on her shoulders, the fear in people’s eyes when they looked at her.

The people of Gotham didn’t know Khepri. They didn’t know Taylor Hebert, the girl who had led an army of parahumans and wiped out Scion. They only knew the Swarm Queen, the vigilante who had thrown herself into their city’s problems with little more than a baton and a flickering connection to a broken power.

As usual, Taylor didn't know if it was enough. But it had to be.

Robin glanced toward the others, where Nightwing and the rest of the team were debriefing. “Come on. We’re not done yet.”

Taylor hesitated for a moment, then followed him, the lingering doubt in her mind tempered by a faint, fragile hope.