My heart sank as Jesse collapsed to the ground. A pit formed in my stomach. "JESSE!" I shouted.
The spectators made sounds that I could barely distinguish. Roulette snickered over the jumbotron. "Who placed their bets on an interception?" She laughed at her sick joke.
I closed my eyes. The day when I met up with Jesse played through my head again. I could see her speeding through Gotham's streets. I remember feeling a sense of relief rush through me when she intercepted between Golden Glider and I. "Going after me is one thing," Jesse had said to her during that fight, "but going after other heroes is another."
I opened my eyes and glanced back down. From the other side of the arena, I could see the others from the team were just as stunned. Black Canary ran to the glass on her end. It was only a few seconds before she let out her canary cry, but I barely registered that it happened. Suddenly, the glass walls of the arena shattered. I could make out the others rushing out from my side with my peripheral vision. They flooded out into the arena. "Everyone, move out!" Wonder Woman ordered, but it sounded so far away. I could see most of the team running from the arena and out into the crowd. I trembled as I made my way out into the arena.
By the time I got to Jesse, Vibe and Harley were already there. It seemed like whatever had drugged up Harley before had run its course since she seemed a bit calmer. On a closer look, I swore I could see tears in her eyes. I looked down at Jesse. My eyes widened at the sight. Her dirty-blinde ponytail seemed to fan out on the ground. Her eyes were glossy as she looked up at me. The red shirt of her uniform was punctured from the arrow. Thick, crimson blood poured out of her abdomen. Both of the corners of her mouth. I knelt down. "Jesse!"
She gave me a weak smile. "Hey Babs." Her mouth started to fill with dark, thick blood.
I blinked a couple times, attempting to take this all in. My body was still trembling. I could feel my heart racing. "Oh my God." I turned to face Vibe. "Get a breach made to the nearest hospital," I commanded, "now!"
Jesse's arm shot up, her palm facing me. "No." She placed her arm back down.
I looked back down at her and furrowed my eyebrows. "No? What...what do you mean 'no'?"
"I'm not gonna make it. I...I can only heal so fast. Especially when the...when the arrow's blocking it. And...I'd be dead on arrival."
Harley knelt down. "I'll get it."
"Harley, no!" Vibe shouted.
By then, though, she had already yanked the arrow out of the puncture, More dark blood erupted out of Jesse's chest.
Tears sprang from Jesse's eyes. "I can only regenerate my health when...when there isn't a significant loss of blood, either." Her lips quivered. "And I...I think Huntress struck an artery." She let out a shaky sigh.
Harley's eyes were wide. They had a glossy look to them. "But...but," she stammered, "but I got the arrow outta ya! You should be able ta be back on yer feet in no time!"
Jesse gave Harley a small smile. "Oh Harley..." A tear fell from the corner of her eye. "Never let your spirit die. Promise me that, okay?" Another tear escaped her other eye. "Because...despite...despite what Huntress has said to countless times, your spirit is the kind of spirit our team needs. One that's filled with hope like a kid's. One that doesn't give up. One that stays strong even when battered time and time again. Never...never let that die."
Harley blinked. A tear streamed down her pale cheek. "Speedy, ya can't give up! Not on us."
"I'm not giving up, Harley," she responded, "it's just...it's just my time." She turned to look at me. The blood coming from the corners of her mouth pooled on the floor beneath her. "Batgirl...Babs."
I sniffled as I tried to hold my eyes back from getting watery. "Yeah, Jesse?"
"You're...you're doing a terrific job at leading this team," she said, "you...Supergirl...Wonder Woman. It's your leadership and your ability to find the good in people that makes us stronger."
I closed my eyes and shook my head. A tear slipped out. "That's not me...that was all you."
Jesse laughed weakly. "And your humility. That's...that just one of the traits you have that...that makes good leadership." She gasped a bit, clearing her throat. More tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm proud of the...the Batgirl you've become. Bat...Batman and the rest of the 'Bat-Fam' would be proud of you."
"I know the speedsters are just as proud of you," I assured her.
Jesse gave me a small smile. "Don't...don't you dare give up, Ba...Babs," she said, "and always keep trying to find the good in people. Never...never turn your back on them." She coughed lightly, spouting a small amount of blood. "You, Kara, Diana....keep...keep hope. You have to...keep it...alive." Her breathing slowed. Her eyes went glossy as one last tear streamed down her cheek.
My eyes widened. "Jesse...?" I shook her lightly. "Jesse?!" I could feel my jaw drop open. "Oh my God." I swallowed hard as the realization set in. "Jesse's..." Tears leaked from my eyes. "She's gone."
Harley shook her head. "No. That...that can't be. Speedy's gotta be playin' with us. Right?" She thrashed Jesse's body. "C'mon," she said, "time ta stop playin' around!" She choked a bit. "Yer...yer scarin' all of us. Ya gotta snap outta it!"
Vibe shook his head with a severe frown on his face. "I don't think she's pranking us." His tan hand nudged her away from Jesse's body.
I gently closed Jesse's eyes with my index and middle fingers, despite my hand shaking. My eyes squeezed shut, trying to hold back my tears. When I finally managed them to open, my vision was obstructed by my tears. I turned my head to only make out colored blobs that I assumed was the team fighting against the spectators. After a minute, I looked back at Harley and Vibe.
Harley shook her head. "No," she said. Her voice choked up. "This...this wasn't how it was supposed ta go."
I nodded. "You're right, Harley."I could feel my blood starting to boil. "It wasn't supposed to end this way." I stood up and faced the audience, who was facing off against some of the members of the team. My hands balled into tight fists as I took a deep breath. Suddenly, I shot off the stage.
"Batgirl!" Vibe shouted, but I ignored him.
I sprinted into the crowd. I shoved a woman in a bluish-green dress out of my way as I kept running. I gritted my teeth as I kept running. Roulette had to be around here somewhere. From what I could tell from her appearances on the jumbotron, she had to be lounging in the press box. She wouldn't want to move away if it meant she couldn't watch any of the action.
As I ran out of the arena, I found myself in the lobby of the arena. I could barely get a good view of where to go before I found three burly men running toward me. I whipped out my grappling hook from my utility belt. I shot up at a gray pipe near the high ceiling. I looked down at them. They stopped in their tracks, confused as to where I went. It only took a moment for one of them to notice me. I threw a batarang at their feet. The second it landed, it bursted into flames, creating a miniature explosion. I unhooked the grappling gun from the pipe and sprinted away.
It was only a matter of time before I found her lounging in a red, leather swivel chair. Roulette was facing away from me, looking out over the arena, watching. From the reflection, I could see her wearing a prominent smirk on her face.
I clutched onto another batarang. "What is to you, Roulette?" My arm rose up, ready to throw. "All this gladitorial fighting, all this bloodshed, all this death; what is it all for? So you can appease your god complex?"
She spun her swivel chair to face me. That smirk was still plastered on her face. It was almost teasing me to beat it to a bloody pulp. "Who said I had a god complex?"
I narrowed my eyes. "I did." I threw a batarang at her, but she dodged it by swivelling her chair to the side.
That smirk of hers taunted me again. Roulette stood up. "Is that all you got up your sleeve, Batgirl?"
I scoffed at her. "You haven't seen anything yet." I charged at Roulette. When I got close enough, I pounced, aiming at her torso. Barely a second had passed when one of her long legs side-swept me away. I flew to the side of her, landing on the left half of my ribcage. I winced once I registered the pain. That was going to bruise. My breath came out as pants as I looked up at her.
"Didn't think I'd fight back, huh?" she jeered. She shook her head as she approached me. "You so-called 'heroes' are all the same."
I glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She grabbed me by my costume's chest and yanked me up so that our eyes could meet. Her glasses were halfway down the bridge of her nose, revealing her green eyes glaring back at me. "You're always so sure of yourselves. You're always so sure that what you do is right." She swung me around and threw me. My back slammed against the wall. "But have you ever thought that what you try to stop; all those muggings, all those homicides, all those wars, all the fighting; is just innate?" She walked towards me again. "If you were in my shoes, you'd know how arbitrary the words 'good' and 'bad' really are. But society doesn't get that. That's why you've been instilled as 'heroes' and people like me are viewed as 'the bad guys'." She smiled. "But restricting human nature to a box of rules is not a way to live life. That's why I have Meta-Brawl. I give my patrons an escape from that dull life."
I gritted my teeth. "And what about your fighters?"
"I'm glad you asked." She looked down at me. "Shouldn't we be able to fight out our aggression? Shouldn't we be able to watch fights so that we can project our aggression? I mean, it's just human nature."
"We don't hurt innocent people," I said, "and we certainly don't kill."
Roulette laughed. "Oh please." Another chuckle escaped her. "Tell that to your friend, Huntress."
My eyes widened. I could feel my blood heat up again. Suddenly, I kicked Roulette away and I landed on my feet. She flew back into the long table that overlooked the arena. Her back slammed against the window, with her leg knocking over her microphone. I ran over to her before slamming my fists into her face, knocking her glasses off her face. I kept punching her over and over and over again. I didn't soften up.
By the time my arm was worn out, Roulette's face was already starting to bruise. She gave me a weak smile. "Go ahead, Batgirl," she coaxed, "kill me. You want to avenge your dead friend, right? Kill me."
A pit formed in my stomach. I gritted my teeth before jamming my knee into her stomach and giving her one last punch in the temple. In that second, her body went limp and her eyes locked shut. I placed my fingers on her neck. I could feel her pulse pump softly against my touch. I lifted her up and slumped her against a pillar. I tied her to it with a cord in my utility belt. I connected a batarang with a tracking system in it to the cord. "I'll never sink to your pathetic level, bitch." I pressed a small button before running out of the press box. The authorities would find her soon.
I ran back out into the arena's lobby to find Black Canary fighting what seemed to be the last of the pissed-off spectators. Or maybe they were security guards. She had finished them off before I could figure out who she was fighting. "Where's the rest of the team?" I asked her, raising my voice.
"I don't know," she admitted before throwing one of her opponents over her shoulder, "they fought some security and we all kind of dispersed from what I could tell." She walked over to me. "But I think they fled the arena."
"You think Vibe and Harley are with them?"
"I wouldn't see why they wouldn't be."
I nodded at her answer. Black Canary and I started running from the lobby. I looked back at the doors of the arena. My heart sank. I could feel my eyes pool with tears, blurring my vision. The realization finally settled in: Jesse Quick shoud've been here, running alongside Black Canary and I out of this hell-hole. She should've been able to defeat Brainiac with us and help cure the ones who contract Brainiac's disease. But she's not with us. She's not even a few seconds behind to catch up now. Jesse will never be running with us anymore. She'll never run ever again.