Chapter 55: Humility #55

Selena's penthouse

"Ya know, I thought there's gon' be lots more typing involved..." Harley said as she leaned on the back of my chair, looking at me working the laptop while literally breathing down my neck.

"You watch too many movies," I blankly replied, shrugging my shoulders as I gestured to the side. I kept the fact I had the same idea about hacking to myself.

The first thing that will come to mind when thinking about a hacker is a guy sitting in a dark room in front of a computer, furiously typing while strings of green code rapidly flood the screen.

However, the laptop didn't even have a proper keyboard in the first place. And I didn't need to do much typing outside of programming the same apps I'm currently using to browse the city's secure servers, trying to find anyone who is or was using them illegally.

So instead of furiously typing on the keyboard, I just clicked here and there while keeping an eye on several loading screens while waiting for the results. Kinda lame, but rather convenient if you ask me.

"I have a couple of buddies in Bludhaven who are into this stuff, and they're always typing at their computers whenever I visit," Selina commented from her spot on the couch, raising an eyebrow as she watched me work from a respectful distance.

"They manually work where I create programs to do the work for me. I hate doing the same menial task over and over whenever I need something done," I replied, shrugging my shoulder as I gave Selina an unimpressed look.

"Oh... looks like we finally got a bite..." I remarked, cutting Harley with a wave before she could say something as I turned back to the laptop and began and locked on to the trace I found.

"And we have a fighter, it seems... trying to cut the link," I added as I cracked my fingers, focusing on the computer. "You wanted to see some typing, Harley?" I asked, grinning as I put on my helmet to cover my face just in case and started typing on the touchpad.

I could have just covered the camera, but I wanted to look the guy in the face before wiping out his database with my Network Crash power out of sheer spite and petty.

...

Gotham

Unknown location

Anarky frowned under his mask, turning to the computer as several of the decoys he'd set up to protect himself disappeared at once. He said nothing as he began working, furiously typing as he tried to identify and locate the person trying to hack into his database.

Though he was concerned, his concern quickly turned to irritation as he noticed the skill of the person trying to track him down through the little traces he left while hacking into the city's surveillance system, or rather, the lack of it.

The person trying to hack his way into Anarky's database wasn't an amateur, and his skill could still be called decent, but the self-proclaimed freedom fighter measured the intruder's work to his own. And it paled in comparison.

Anarky was naturally arrogant and confident in his abilities, but he wasn't foolish enough to think himself invincible and his database impenetrable.

However, the freedom fighter never thought anyone with such a skill level would try going after him, of all people, causing his expression to darken under his theatrical mask, and decide to teach the impudent fool a lesson.

He immediately went to work, disabling half of the sixty-something decoy signal sources he'd set up, luring the intruder right into his database. He wanted to give the fool a sense of false hope and crush him at the last possible second to prove his superiority.

And things went as Anarky planned as the intruder, spurred by his progress, walked right into a portion of his database that he'd intentionally opened himself.

Anarky scoffed as he was about to start tracing the intruder, now that the latter was in his playground. However, he stopped, raising an eyebrow as the impudent fool brazenly opened a two-way video call between them.

"I really don't know what I was expecting... but some guy dressed as a theatre club reject, wasn't it..." the intruder casually remarked in a mocking tone when his face, covered by a helmeted gas mask, appeared on Anarky's computer screen.

"Inconsequential fool. Anarky does not need nor want your approval, for Anarky is the voice of the voiceless!" Anarky replied, feeling a need to assert his superiority and separate himself from the foolish intruder.

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"Well, it's about time someone put you on mute, Mr. Voice of the voiceless," the intruder replied, and Anarky got the impression that he was rolling his eyes under his helmet.

"Do you genuinely believe yourself capable of silencing the people's voices?" Anarky replied dismissively, gesturing to the side to show how little he cared for the intruder's poor attempt at quipping.

"You are no one and nothing in the face of the people's will. I have allowed you to hack into my database on a whim. But I tire of your impudence," Anarky added, shaking his head as he began working on tracing the intruder while the latter was in a protected section of his database.

"Did you, now?" the intruder asked in a skeptical tone as he too began working, still unphased despite several warning windows appearing on his laptop.

"Isn't that like super bad news?" a pale, blonde woman with heavy makeup appeared in the video feed, sticking her face next to the intruder as she asked. Anarky immediately recognized the woman as Harley Quinn.

"Now's not the time, Harley. Get out of here," the intruder replied, pushing the crazy blonde away as he resumed working, stopping with a sigh after a minute, much to Anarky's amusement.

"You got me good..." the intruder said, shrugging his shoulders with another sigh as he raised his hands in surrender. "I still have to thank you, though..." he added, a good measure of amusement returning to his voice as he quickly got over the fact Anarky had led him by the nose.

"If you didn't let me into your database, I wouldn't have been able to do this..." the intruder said, resuming his mocking tone as he reached for the camera with his index finger that had blue arcs of electricity coursing around it.

The video feed turned black, but nothing happened, much to Anarky's confusion. However, the confusion quickly turned into panic when his computers began wiping whatever data they had before restarting.

And before Anarky could make sense of the situation, the computers booted back up, and the two-way video call resumed. However, the intruder said nothing and merely stared into the camera with what could only be a smug expression under his helmet.

Getting a bad feeling, Anarky immediately began fiddling with the central computer, only to freeze as he found all his data gone along with the operating system he created, replaced by another customized and coded operating system.

"What have you done, you fool?!" Anarky angrily exclaimed as he tried to decipher the new operating system the intruder had installed to replace the old one, but the latter didn't stand still and fought him at every step and turn.

"Taught you a lesson in humility," the intruder replied, chuckling as he ended the call, leaving an outraged Anarky to try to reclaim his system and computers.

Anarky reckoned he'd be able to regain control, eventually. But he needed time to do so, time he did not have right now since the intruder likely managed to find his location after hijacking the system.

The freedom fighter scowled under his mask and began destroying the cameras and microphones in his lair, preparing to take whatever he could before leaving.

However, he forgot one minor detail. In his paranoia and arrogance, he had linked everything in the hideout to his computers, including the exits, effectively making him a prisoner inside his own base now that someone else had taken control of the system.

"Damnit!" Anarky exclaimed as he tried to open the exit to no avail and promptly returned to the computer to attempt to pry back control over the system from the intruder.

...

Selena's penthouse

"I'll need to stay here to make sure the bastard stays put," I remarked as I took out a pen and piece of paper from my inventory. "I currently have him trapped in his own base, but he's better than me at programming..." I added as I began writing down the man's address.

"It's only a matter of time before he wrestles control back, so you better hurry up if you want to catch him," I concluded as I handed the paper to Selina and turned back to my laptop.

She might have muttered something about not needing to go herself, but I was too focused on keeping Anarky from regaining control over his system to care.

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