Chapter Text
Capture the flag. A simple game of two teams, two goals, and two lines of defense, each facing off against the other. The more members put into the offense, the weaker the defense. The stronger the defense, the less offense one could provide. But no mix of defense and offense could possibly hold against an all-out attack by a strategic mastermind with a one-track mind! Especially a hungry one on a time crunch who knows her flags have no offensive capabilities.
Batgirl sped through the streetlamp-lit streets of Metropolis, every available computer system on her person and her scooter out, open, and running like some kind of crazed Pokemon Go player on a never-ending hunt. Which wasn’t all that inaccurate of a description.
“Come on, come on, that last one has to be here somewhere!”
She fretted aloud as the wind whipped around her, eyes on her screens more than on the street ahead. It might have been a miracle that she hasn’t gotten into any accidents after all the time she has done this, or it could have simply been the skill of an obsessed teenager. She didn’t have time to figure that out, though.
The communicator on her wrist beeped and she held it up to her face like it was her last hope. “Bumblebee! Please please PLEASE tell me you found it!”
There was a pause, before a timid voice came through. “Well…Do you want the bad news first…?”
“Noooo-! Please, the Metropolis HackCon is tomorrow! I can’t lose this competition to that sad little puppy-eyed rich brat again!” She bemoaned. That Tim Drake kid may not have been as old or as skilled as her, but he had more resources than Barbra Gordon originally had access to. That has since changed, but who knows what might have changed for him, too. She didn’t want to think about it.
“You know I’m not much of a hacker, Batgirl,” Bumblebee replied apologetically. “I do more of the mechanical aspects than the programming side of things. It’s why I had so much trouble with making my suit… Besides, what kind of convention sets up a competition that takes place before the actual event? How do they keep track of cheating, or maintain their servers, or- or- or ensure the safety of their participants!? Do you really have to be going all over the city just to find these Flags? It doesn’t seem right…”
“Oh psh, you worry too much, Bee! This Con is hosted by none other than Lex Luthor this year!” She revealed excitedly, getting a squawk from Bumblebee, who couldn't comprehend how her friend was excited about something held by a suspected Supervillain. “They say the top prize gets a college scholarship and guaranteed internship upon graduation! I’ve been trying to win that myself for years now- Darn Drake kid keeps mocking me by donating the scholarship to the second and third placers.”
“Wait, so you don’t actually need-?”
“It’s the principle of it, Bumblebee! The principle!” Batgirl declared loudly, before ending the communication.
“Batgirl…? Batgirl? Oh, she hung up. But, I didn't even get to tell her the good news…”
Soon enough, Batgirl reached her limit and ended her hunt for the last Flag. Stashing her scooter in a narrow and dark alley, she grappled up to a highrise rooftop and flopped down, defeated and feeling like a dried-up starfish.
“What kind of Capture the Flag game is also this much of a Treasure Hunt??” She groaned. “It used to just be held at the HackCon, sitting at computers and digging through the servers of the Convention Center and connected Hotels! How did that Luthor guy get so many businesses around Metropolis to participate like this…? Ugh, I don’t care! I wish he would at least give us hints!”
A few moments passed, as Batgirl grumbled to herself, complaining and going over what she knew so far so she could try to find a lead hidden within her own brain.
Then the crunch of rooftop gravel had her looking up, or as relatively up as she can while laying flat on her back. A head of blond hair looms just behind her, a familiar bucket of food obscuring the face. “Tough time?” a sympathetic voice asked.