American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 507 Accept your fate, Barbara!

Chapter 507 Accept your fate, Barbara!

The Joker has always been the top supervillain in Gotham City and even the entire DC universe. There are villains similar to him, but none of them can reach his level.

He became a nightmare for many people, including Barbara.

But the Joker's death brought not only joy and relief, but also a deeper kind of pain. It wasn't the guilt of betrayal, but a profound, belated realization about her own foolishness, about how she was blinded by Jason's hatred and her own confusion, about how she so easily gave up the fight and chose to succumb to darkness before the real end arrived.

The Joker is dead, but she is still alive, and being alive naturally means facing all of this.

Facing the gazes of her companions, facing Bruce's silence, facing the wasteland within her heart, gnawed away by her own betrayal and foolishness—

It was as absurd and ridiculous as defecting to the Nationalist army in 49, but that's exactly what she did. Generally speaking, it's difficult for a rescued suicide victim to muster the courage to do something wrong again, but Barbara really wanted to put it into practice and jump again.

Taking advantage of Dick and Rune's momentary lapse in concentration during their argument, she turned around again, intending to jump off the building, but—

"You want to die, but did you ask me?" Rune said impatiently. He could roughly understand why Barbara wanted to do this, and he had no reason to stop her.

Unlike Jason, he wasn't tormented by the Joker, nor did he experience the same painful experiences as Dick and the others.

However, Rune valued his life and was quite unhappy with Barbara's choice to commit suicide as an escape. He had certainly been hunted down, and his situation was by no means better than that of heroes like Barbara and Jason who had narrowly escaped death.

Falcone and the Owl Court found his weakness and used N metal to force him to jump into the river, just to gamble on that sliver of a chance to survive. He wasn't even an adult at the time!

And then what? He then killed Falcone and cleaned up the Court of Owls.

Holding Barbara in mid-air by magic, she continued to cover her face and cry. Dick took a deep breath; he was scared half to death by Barbara's sudden attack.

"I think she might not want to see you anytime soon," Rune said to Dick. "Could you please—"

Shall we leave first?

Dick gave Barbara a long look, then patted Rune on the shoulder and said, "Please, please, help her get better!"

Rune nodded, saw Dick off, then took a bottle of Compound No. 5 from his pocket and threw it at Barbara's face. Barbara didn't catch it, but the bottle of Compound No. 5 didn't fall to the ground. Instead, it mysteriously floated in front of her, constantly hovering.

"I know you've let Bruce Wayne down, you've let Dick Grayson down, you've let everyone in the Bat-Family down, so—" Rune smirked, "I have a new job, a job—that involves working in other universes. Let's just call it well-paid, and there should be plenty of vacation time—"

"But most importantly, this job requires you to travel frequently. You might think it's great now, but that might not be the case later. However—if you'd like, you can drink this potion."

After saying that, Rune looked to the side and asked, "Will this affect your future?"

The naked blue-clad man, who would never be seen by anyone else, shook his head.

As long as Batman, Superman, Firestorm, and Luthor are still around, and Rune himself doesn't get involved, his future won't change much.

Rune nodded.

Upon hearing this, Barbara sobbed. Although she had doubts, she was seriously considering Rune's words.

First of all, Rune himself is probably a good person. He had already healed his leg before, and he was with Dick at this time. He not only saved him several times, but he also knew Batman's real name. It's just that his personality might be a bit—well, nasty.

After Rune forced her to drink the healing potion last time, she noticed the problem with his personality, and this time it has been exposed even more clearly.

However, she couldn't speak so definitively. If possible, she'd like to consult Batman; that man always seemed to see through other people's schemes. But she was too ashamed to face this superhero any longer—

She had broken that man's heart.

Even so, Barbara concluded by saying, "I think I'll think about it."

"Alright, but until then, you must stay within my sight." Rune turned around and opened a portal, on the other side of which was her home.

Poor Sheriff Gordon, this upright policeman still lives in a shabby apartment because he resolutely refuses to accept bribes from mob bosses and various supervillains.

If it weren't for Batman's financial support, Gordon might not have even been able to buy a safe house.

Some police officers with much lower ranks than him might earn enough in one night of illicit income for Chief Gordon to work for a year.

"Both of your fathers are great men, Barbara." Rune looked at her. Gordon was just as stubborn as Jonathan, but the former had to take even greater risks. "Don't let them down."

Barbara remained silent. She knew her previous suicide attempt was a cowardly act, and Rune's words were essentially an accusation against that, but—

"You haven't experienced this kind of pain, have you?"

Rune rolled his eyes. He had the ability and determination to say no to anything against his conscience, and he certainly couldn't empathize with Barbara, who had a dark past.

"Stop talking nonsense." With that, Rune tossed her into the portal and followed closely behind.

As soon as he entered Barbara's apartment, Rune unconsciously touched his clothes. The levitation cloak immediately understood, flew off Rune, and wrapped itself around Barbara's neck.

Barbara was shocked by Rune's sudden act of stripping her naked. She even forgot to scream and just stared blankly at the man's body in front of her.

Rune's entire physique was practically perfect; his streamlined muscles were so white they seemed to shimmer—this was natural, as magic and Kryptonian blood enhanced his body, and the Doomsday bloodline even had the leisure to add aesthetic enhancements.

However, Rune's body was only exposed for a short time, and his vital parts were already covered by the shadowy clothing that was being generated. Soon, Rune was wearing a black robe, but Barbara did not make any move during this time.

"What's wrong? Aren't you cold?" Rune frowned; her casual clothes were soaked through.

Barbara screamed in surprise.