Lord-Campione
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Chapter 016: A hero's "Failure"
🕑 Added 2025-01-11 18:59:27 +0000 UTCBatgirl’s head snapped toward the sound, her breath catching in her throat.
Maya stood at the edge of the platform, trembling, her hand shaking as it gripped a gun. Sitting on her shoulder was a G-Gnome, its glowing red eyes staring at Batgirl with cold intent. The creature’s horns glowed faintly, and Maya’s face twisted in silent anguish as she fought to resist the invasive control.
Maya’s wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto hers, desperate and pleading. Her lips trembled, as though she were trying to scream, to beg for help, but the G-Gnome’s influence kept her silent.
Barbara reached for a batarang, her muscles tensed, her instincts screaming at her to act. But before she could throw, Guardian slammed into her with a vicious shield bash, sending her sprawling across the floor.
“G-Gnome, stand down!” Guardian barked. “We have the information we need. Release her!”
The G-Gnome ignored him.
Both Guardian and Batgirl froze as Maya’s movements turned mechanical. Her arm straightened, the muzzle of the gun trembling as it tilted toward her temple.
“No!” Batgirl screamed, scrambling to her feet. “Fight it! You can fight it!”
Her voice rang out, sharp and urgent, but it wasn’t enough.
The gunshot echoed like a thunderclap, cutting through the chaos and freezing everything in its wake.
Maya crumpled instantly, the weapon slipping from her hand as her body hit the cold concrete with a sickening thud. Blood pooled beneath her head, stark and vivid against the gray floor. Her blank eyes stared upward, frozen in an expression of despair that would haunt Barbara for the rest of her life.
For a moment, nothing moved. Nothing breathed.
Batgirl stood frozen, her chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. Her gloved hands hovered uselessly, her brain refusing to process what had just happened. The sharp tang of gunpowder mixed with the metallic scent of blood, a cruel reminder of her failure.
Guardian’s shield was lowered, his posture stiff as he stared at Maya’s lifeless body. Even through his golden helmet, his shock was unmistakable.
The G-Gnome scurried off Maya’s shoulder and darted toward Guardian, moving with unsettling speed. Barbara instinctively raised her batarang, but Guardian didn’t react. He didn’t swat the creature away, didn’t recoil.
Instead, he let it crawl onto him.
The G-Gnome climbed onto his shoulder, its tiny claws gripping the fabric of his suit. Its horns glowed faintly, and Guardian’s rigid stance shifted. His shoulders relaxed, and he straightened with a disturbing calm.
Barbara’s eyes narrowed, her voice low and sharp. “They’re controlling you too, aren’t they?”
Guardian didn’t respond.
He pulled a smoke bomb from his belt, tossing it to the ground. A thick plume of gray smoke erupted around him, engulfing the platform. By the time it cleared, both he and the G-Gnome were gone.
Barbara dropped to her knees beside Maya’s body, her hands trembling as they hovered over the lifeless form. Her mind raced, replaying the last moments over and over, searching for something—anything—she could have done differently.
But there was nothing.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she forced back the rising lump in her throat.
You were supposed to save her, she thought bitterly. She was counting on you.
Maya’s wide, glassy eyes stared at the ceiling, and Barbara reached forward hesitantly, closing them with a gloved hand. It was a small gesture, but it felt like the only thing she could do now.
Barbara reached for her comm, her hand trembling. Her voice came low and raw. “Bruce…”
“Report!”
“A civilian,” she began, her throat tightening. “She… she didn’t make it.”
There was a pause, just long enough for her words to sink in.
“How?”
“She was controlled,” Barbara said, forcing the words out. “By a G-Gnome. It got into her head and made her…” Her breath hitched as the image of Maya raising the gun flashed in her mind. “It made her pull the trigger. I tried to stop it, Bruce. I tried.”
“And you?”
“I was there,” Barbara said bitterly. “I was right there. I saw it happening, and I couldn’t stop it. I wasn’t fast enough. I wasn’t good enough.”
“You did everything you could.”
“It wasn’t enough!” she snapped, her voice rising with frustration and guilt. “She’s dead because I failed her. Because I couldn’t protect her!”
“Stop,” Batman said sharply. “You don’t get to shoulder this alone. What happened wasn’t your failure—it was the enemy’s design. This wasn’t about skill or effort.”
“Don’t tell me it wasn’t my fault, Bruce. I should’ve been faster, smarter—something! She was counting on me.”
“Barbara, listen. You can do everything right and still lose someone. It’s cruel, it’s unfair, and it’s the reality of what we do. You’re not infallible. None of us are.”
Her breath hitched again.
“How do you live with it?”
“I don’t,” he said after a moment. “I carry it. Every name, every face—they stay with me. But I use them. Not for vengeance, not for rage. For justice. For the ones we can still save.”
Barbara let the silence stretch, her breathing slowing as she absorbed his words.
“She didn’t deserve this,” she said finally, her voice quieter but no less raw.
“No one does,” Batman replied firmly. “And that’s why we keep going. So fewer people do.”
“Whoever Adrian Wells is—whoever he is to Cadmus or to you—it doesn’t matter. I won’t let this happen again. Next time, I will protect the innocent. No matter what it takes.”
“Good,” Batman said. “Never forget this night. Or this loss. Let it fuel you—not for glory, but for them.”
The weight of his words settled over her like an iron chain.
“And remember,” Batman added after a pause. “You’re not alone. I’m here. Always.”
For a moment, Barbara let herself believe him.
“I’ll send you the Cadmus’s file,” he continued, his tone turning clinical again. “Study it. If we’re going to stop Cadmus, we need to understand their methods. I’ll also cross-reference Guardian’s movements—he’s compromised. This isn’t over.”
Barbara straightened. “It won’t be. Not until Cadmus pays for what they’ve done.”
“I’ll send a clean up crew to your location… You did everything you could. Don’t forget that.”
The line went silent, but his words lingered in her mind.
Barbara rose slowly, her gloved fingers curling into fists as she turned her gaze to Maya one last time. The sting of tears pricked her eyes, but she didn’t wipe them away. They felt too heavy, too real.
“Never again,” she whispered, the promise burning in her chest.
Her cape swept behind her as she disappeared into the shadows, her steps steady with purpose. Somewhere out there, Adrian Wells was alive. And she would make sure his story didn’t end like Maya’s.
