Chapter Text
Batgirl is on patrol. She has had to patrol a lot now, the gang war between Black Mask and the mysterious Red Hood blazes. Blazes, like flame. Both sides fan the flame, and her family slowly smothers it, isolates it. Working to keep the flame from consuming too many civilians.
Both sides clearly do not care how many civilians are consumed. Do they? Red Hood men do not hurt children. Does it count? More than Black Mask.
Secretly, Batgirl hopes that Red Hood wins in the end. It would be better that way. Alfred and Tim do as well. All of them remember what Black Mask did. Bruce and Dick remember too, but truly hope that both lose. This is reasonable, he showed what he is with the message to the police. Not realistic, but she does not blame them for it.
To that end, Batgirl patrols across the rooftops, silent and fast. It is not as nice as it used to be, but it still feels like home.
Sometimes she can pretend that she is playing with Stephanie again. It is sad, but when she stops, she wants to do it again.
Found something. Running across the rooftops ahead is a figure, skilled at stealth and speed, but given away by their red cloak. Batgirl remembers what B had told her, from interrogations. Red Hood's thugs are occasionally given orders or deliveries through a red cloaked figure with a mask, Red Rider, they call them.
Batgirl is getting nearer, stealth over speed, but some compromise must be made to keep up with the Rider. Their form of parkour is familiar, clearly self taught but used to Gotham scenery. An experienced local then, shorter than Cass, feminine body language.
Red Rider stops, and Batgirl hides, hanging just off of the edge of the rooftop and above an alleyway below, just as she could hear them draw a gun, likely pointed right where Batgirl just was. Rider has good instincts, then.
"Boss. I was waiting for you to show up." A distorted voice says. Not so good instincts then, likely she's just ready for someone to ambush her meeting, instead.
Batgirl peeks up over the edge of the rooftop, and sees the masked, hooded criminal, completely alone, looking at and pointing a revolver straight at her, body language showing pride and victory.
"Gotcha."
Very good instincts, then. Clever. Batgirl ducks back underneath the lip of the roof, and the crack of a gunshot rings through the night air.
"That's your first warning, beautiful."
That is... Unexpected. It is not the first time that a villain has flirted with her, but they are usually men. Is she reading their body language wrong? No, but men will sometimes have female body language or vice-versa.
It doesn't matter. Disregard it as always.
Red Rider is running now, so Batgirl flips back up onto the roof and gives chase. Red Rider is much faster now, disregarding stealth, and Batgirl must discard stealth herself to keep up. They both seem very well-practiced at rooftop tag.
The memory hits Cassandra like a sucker-punch, and a sudden discomfort finds root in her body, even as she keeps chasing after Rider. It seems so familiar, almost too familiar, like she can see Red Rider running just the same as Stephanie once did. Is their body language really that similar, or could she not trust her eyes like Fear Gas does? Is this feeling because she's been poisoned? When?
Red Rider makes a turn that Stephanie hadn't, and Cassandra snaps out of it, but still feels so, uncomfortable. They still move so much like her, something aches at that. A muscle Cassandra cannot name, which is impossible, because anatomy was one of the most fun things she learned about, giving words for things as intrinsic to her as breathing. So why can't she tell what hurts?
Red Rider dives into the open window of an attic. This is why Stephanie had not made this turn, she knew Cassandra well enough to know she wouldn't be able to evade her in an enclosed space. Just a few seconds behind, Batgirl enters the attic, and dives down the steps she can hear Red Rider running down. She lunges to tackle and catch them as they reach the landing, but catches only empty air, and tumbles back onto her feet.
That doesn't make any sense, even if they somehow went invisible, she should've been able to-
The steps that Batgirl had heard a moment ago repeat again, and she looks up to see a chakram-like disk stuck into the wall, playing the sound from a speaker.
She rushes back upstairs, to find nothing.
She looks out the window, and it's clear Red Rider hadn't gone back onto the rooftops, they must have gone down and disappeared into the maze of alleyways.
For once, Cassandra has lost the target.
She accesses the coms, and informs Agent A of her encounter.