American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 505 Sometimes, it takes more courage to live than to die.

Chapter 505 Sometimes, it takes more courage to live than to die.

Barbara Gordon was once Batgirl, but she was soon paralyzed from the waist down by the Joker. She then became an oracle providing technical support to the Bat-family, and surprisingly, she was very good at this job.

Barbara is knowledgeable about computers and electronic devices, a skilled hacker, and has invented various tools and weapons. In addition, her fighting skills are also top-notch.

Both Batman and Dick believed that Barbara would become Batgirl again after regaining her ability to walk, but Barbara did not do so.

As always, she provided technical support to all members of the Bat Family, but Barbara remained locked in her home, even more so than before. Sheriff Gordon also tried to get Barbara to do rehabilitation exercises, but Barbara was uncooperative.

Anyone who knows the whole story knows that Barbara has never truly let go of the past.

At this moment, she was barely able to stand by the railing on the rooftop. A light rain began to fall, soaking her red hair, which clung to her pale, bloodless face in strands.

Gotham's rain never cares about the feelings of pedestrians on the street—it hates every Gotham resident equally, whether they are superheroes or supervillains. It flows over every inch of the city's sins and money, witnessing every moment of the city.

Barbara was wearing just ordinary clothes. She wasn't wearing the uniform that had once symbolized another life and another identity of hers.

She didn't deserve it, after being persuaded by that man, and after personally cutting off Batman's communication devices—

Barbara knew she deserved to die. Even now, her casual clothes, soaked with mud, blood, and rain, clung tightly to her body, the waterlogged garments feeling heavy like iron shackles, and even though she hadn't undergone much rehabilitation, every step she took felt like a desperate fight against those thugs—

But she still managed to reach the rooftop of a residential building.

But Barbara felt no joy from this. She could neither feel cold nor tired; she felt only numbness, a numbness that spread from the depths of her bones.

A peculiar smell permeated the air.

Barbara seemed to see a black figure in the Batsuit not far away, Bruce Wayne, her mentor, the man she once almost regarded as her father, kneeling on one knee, the poison rendering him unable to fight.

She could almost see Dick Grayson and Kate Kane lying haphazardly on the rooftop, their bodies curled up in agony.

They had trusted her so much, they had considered her a brother and sister who fought alongside them, but now, because of her betrayal, she had become Jason's prisoner.

Perhaps—perhaps Jason, considering how much they once adored him, wouldn't mistreat them? No, no, no—

Barbara slapped herself hard. Wasn't this just deceiving herself?

She recalled the scene from a few days ago when Jason barged into her room and easily convinced himself with words; she could still remember his words.

"Only when everything he cherishes crumbles before his eyes will he understand! And understand how naive his approach was! We need to break this cycle, Barbara, for him, and for all those dragged into this endless war by his damned principles!"

But why did she believe him at the time? Was it because she had felt a deep sense of powerlessness while watching crime statistics scroll across the screen countless nights? Was it because she had also questioned Bruce's non-killing policy, wondering if it provided a breeding ground for evil?

Could it be Jason Todd, the robin who died once, whose pain was so real and so infectious that Barbara was willing to give him another chance?

Or was it because she had also been abused by the same insane criminal and harbored resentment towards that man?

Barbara didn't know that there might be some of these reasons, but in any case, when she betrayed Batman and her brothers and sisters, there was no turning back, was there?

She failed Batman, she failed Dick, she failed everyone. She wasn't a nurse handing a scalpel to a doctor; she was an accomplice handing weapons to a killer.

Look at everything that happened tonight. Countless ordinary people died because of her decision, and countless criminals escaped because of her help. No, Jason may have just wanted to wake Batman up, but what was the price?

Wiping out the entire Bat family and putting Gotham City in danger—was it all worth it?

But Barbara realized this too late; she could no longer face them, Bruce, or even herself.

Now, she suddenly felt like vomiting, but after dry heaving a few times, she couldn't vomit anything. Her vision began to blur, and tears fell like rain.

Yes, she hasn't been able to eat for the past few days.

A small section of the security fence around the apartment building was broken, which is not uncommon in Gotham, where corrupt officials control almost everything, including municipal affairs, and use it to amass wealth.

But in Barbara's eyes, this small missing section of the guardrail was like an invitation, as if it were saying: Come on, jump down, come to a world without pain, without betrayal, without this heart-wrenching guilt and shame.

Yes, that's what she was planning to do all along. It might cause her father pain, and Batman and the others—no, they'll just think it's good that she's dead?

Tears welled up again, and Barbara sobbed, but her body reacted before her mind could process them; her numb legs suddenly surged with strength. Like an arrow released from a bow, she broke through the rain and rushed towards the gap.

She seemed to hear a gasp, but she couldn't make it out. The colors and sounds of the world were fading rapidly, leaving only that hazy, gray expanse ahead, a shore representing nothingness, dreams, and freedom.

The wind whistled past my ears, carrying the stale, damp smell unique to Gotham.

Barbara jumped out. The apartment building wasn't particularly high; she might not die instantly from the fall, but would struggle for a while. If she was lucky, she might be killed by a passing gangster; if she wasn't—

Even she herself didn't know what would happen.

Her body was suddenly suspended in mid-air, a feeling of weightlessness gripping her. The dazzling yet cold nightscape of Gotham spun wildly and blurred before her eyes. Let it end like this—

Just when she thought she was about to face a collision and darkness, a hand, a determined hand, suddenly grabbed her wrist—