Batgirl Vol 1 62

"The Hood, Part 3: Dead Weight"
Batgirl #62
March 30, 2005
Written by	Andersen Gabrych
Cover by	Jesse Delperdang, Alé Garza
Pencilled by	Alé Garza
Inked by	Jesse Delperdang
Colored by	Jason Wright
Lettering by	Phil Balsman
Edited by	Michael Wright
Previous Issue	Batgirl #61
Next Issue	Superman/Batman #19

Beaten, burned and on the brink of annihilation, Batgirl finds herself caught between life and death, facing the friend she thought she'd never see again: Spoiler! But outside the realm of the living, the face of a friend may mean the icy grip of death!

Summary of Stephness: The ghostly form of Spoiler grabs Cassandra, announcing she's not going into "the light". She comments, "No offense, but you need to drop some weight. Let some things go..." Cassandra kicks off her boots and utility belt, and Stephanie hoists her up completely. Cassandra asks if she is dead, and Steph replies, "Well, that's up to you."

We go into a flashback through Cassandra's history ("And welcome to the 'life flashing before your eyes' segment of our program," Stephanie quips, being dead has done nothing to stifle her sarcastic sense of humor). Stephanie goes through Cassandra's birth, rigorous training by David Cain, assassination of unnamed man and subsequent running away, and her eventual meeting with Oracle and debut as Batgirl. She finishes, "And you continued to prove yourself...as a fighter and as a hero...especially in the...the recent...ugliness..." And Stephanie takes off her mask to reveal a badly decomposed face.

A horrified Cassandra sputters, "Oh, Steph...I'm so sorry..." but Stephanie replies that she screwed up and paid the price, but that Cassandra has a city of her own. "It's do or die time," she says, and Cassandra asks Stephanie what she should do. Stephanie lets Cass go to urge her to swim away, saying, '"Do what you do best. What you taught me to do. Fight. Fight for your life. Right up 'till the end...'"'

As Cass reaches the surface, Steph's voice fades, and she breaks into the air, gasping. As she pulls herself up on the dock, she notices the remains of her cape and mask and picks them up. Looking at them sadly, she says, "Stephanie."

Other Formats/Collected In:
Digital Comic Book
Batgirl: Kicking Assassins TPB

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