Before 1x08 Hostile Takeover

More of the mysterious hacker, Labyrinth, and what he gets into between episodes. This is highly Labyrinth-centric, and as an apology, this update is a double-post.


Everything was normal at the DEO. Quiet, normal, monitoring things. Nothing seeming wrong.

The screens glitched. Techs tensed and looked, but returned to their relaxing when nothing further happened. The lights flickered and main power went down. Emergency red lights flooded the area. "There's someone in your systems," the now-familiar voice of Labyrinth said, crackling with bad static and their usual pink text conspicuously absent from the screens. "They're trying to breach defenses. I've kept the cells closed and emergency backup on, but I'm not tapped in directly; I'm limited to what I can do from out here."

"How do we know it's not you," Hank asked.

"I'm the one who warned you, idiots!" The speaker sparked. Labyrinth cursed. The screens came on, showing a person in a black hood with a hardshell grey mask covering their features. There was one eyehole covered with a reflective material that reflected lines of white code scrolled across a black screen into the webcam; the other side was featureless.* The person was clearly typing rapidly while facing the computer webcam, and irritation and tension radiated from their form. The image was not smooth, tearing and freezing constantly. "What a way to meet," they said, still sounding androgynous. "I'm Labyrinth." There was another spark at their hands, barely caught by the bottom of the camera feed. They hissed in pain but kept typing. "Whoever is doing this, they're doing a bang up job. They've almost locked me out. I can get you their location, but I'll be shut out until you can either shut them down or bring me to base so I can tap in directly."

"Understood." Hank turned to the agents. "Prep a go team."

Labyrinth hissed as the sparks grew more frequent and intense. "Man they're good. Turning the machine against me? I've got to remember that. I hope one of you has a camera out: I'll only be able to flash the two coordinates for a second before I'm cut, but I did place a temporary safeguard around your cells using some of my pre-constructed programs. Bottom one's me." The two longitudinal codes flickered across the screen.

Then everything went eerily dark.

Hank started shouting at the teams: one to retrieve Labyrinth and the other to tackle the hostile.


Labyrinth whistled through the mask as the bag was pulled off their head. (Inside, the hacker was watching their location coordinates and a lot more information on every person that crossed their sight via the built-in HUD on the half of the mask that was covered solid.) "Bit dull, isn't it? Underground, no light. If a cave-in happened, you'd all be stuck. Whatever; not my base." They clapped their hands together. Alex took note of the wince. "Take me to the server room!"

Suddenly not as irritated but much more curious about the male—for the hacker had a clearly flat chest and no curves—instead, she jerked her head down the hall. "This way."

Labyrinth stuck his hands into his brown cowboy-outlaw-esque leather jacket. He craned his neck around, taking in the sights with eyes instead of cameras. Alex held open the door for him.

Labyrinth inclined his head, reading a small portion of the dossier that appeared on the mask's interior HUD when he focused upon her. "Thank you, Agent Danvers."

She jerked. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everything about everyone here, sister of Kara Zor-El." Labyrinth smiled reassuringly under his mask; it conveyed well through body posture. "If I wanted the world to know, I would have released the information ages ago."

Alex breathed deeply to calm herself and nodded. "So what am I supposed to call you?"

"Labyrinth. It is as much a real name to me as any."

"Don't you have people who will worry?"

"I told them I was on a camping trip. It will cover the three days I might need to bring your systems back online." Alex caught Labyrinth's still movements as he withdrew a USB from his belt pouch and inserted it into one of the dark server units with more shoulder weight than the necessary hand and elbow movement usually required. "Can you get me a laptop? Your people wouldn't let me bring mine."

Alex provided one already on the DEO network and watched as he plugged it into the server with stiff fingers. He couldn't seem to grab the cable heads properly. She grabbed his arm and narrowed her eyes when the hacker stifled a noise.

"You're injured."

"It's kind of what happens when your keyboard pours several volts of electricity through while you're using it," Labyrinth snapped.

"You need your fingers to work."

He ripped his wrist out of her grip. "I said I'd get it done."

"I'm not saying you won't, but we can at least treat you. As payment for your help, if nothing else."

Labyrinth hesitated, but nodded finally. It would let him work. It would get him out of here faster. He had already applied medicinal creams and ointments, and his gloves provided compression, but a trained medical professional was always good.

After he had added his signature security program, Labyrinth, after which he took his codename, he had the DEO drop him off at the same warehouse they picked him up. He slid open the large steel cargo door just enough to slide in and closed it behind him, engulfing the windowless interior in shadow.

His mask still provided outlines in blue of everything present in the room to the rudimentary HUD built into the eyeless half of the mask. The two images, though different, were of the same thing and provided the normal sterovision of seeing normally; just with the added effects that machines and technology could provide, as evidenced by his current design-architectural night vision.

He got out the spare first aid kit he had stashed and slid his gloves off stiff fingers. The gloves were charred and torn through; he would need new ones. His hands were not much better. The DEO had provided the ointments and bandages and painkillers, and like an idiot he had allowed Agent Danvers to patch him up. Now he had to worry about them having a file on him and running his blood for DNA matches and finding his identity. More work, in essence, to keep himself hidden. He twitched his fingers as if to clench them and bit back a hiss as it stretched and irritated his burns.

Mostly second degree, which was still really bad. Some spots of third degree, but not enough to leave noticeable scarring when it finally healed in the next weeks. Not unless someone was specifically looking for it anyway.

He would need someone to redress his wounds. Not the agent; she would look to get information from him and make him slip and talk in his weakness. Supergirl, then. Kara Danvers. He could talk her through rudimentary care. He didn't need much more than reapplication of medicine and rewrapping.

He'd just wear gloves around the house, and if asked, he'd say it was the cold. It was November after all.


Labyrinth slowly approached Kara Danvers' apartment door. He kicked the door lightly as his knock. After a moment, the door opened and Kara's wide eyes behind framed glasses took him in.

"I was in the DEO's servers," Labyrinth shrugged. "Please, I- I need help."

She let him in, making sure the door was closed before turning. The computer programmer used his teeth to pull off the gloves.

She gasped. "You need a hospital!"

"No! No hospital. I can walk you through treatment; I just can't do it myself right now."

"Are, are you sure?"

He nodded. "We need a bowl of cool water and some rags. I brought bandage wraps, ointments, and creams." He breathed easier as the sores were cleaned and the healing cream coolly soothed the heated skin.

"Do you want painkillers?"

Labyrinth opened his eyes, startled to realize he had dozed under her ministrations. Thankfully he wore a mask. "No, thank you." He gathered his things with stiff, bandaged fingers. Kara quickly took over and packed them into his satchel for him.

"Thank you." He collected his gloves and tugged them on slowly.

"You're more than welcome back if you need help," Kara said just before she closed the door behind him.

Labyrinth nodded in surprise. "Thank you," he said again, more gratefully. "I might take you up on that."


Yeah so I realized after rereading this that I hadn't written an official "Supergirl meets Labyrinth" piece. So just assume they met during one of Lab's assists and I'll write one up and stick it in the vignettes companion fic eventually.

Not sure if it's obvious who Labyrinth is. Just stay with me; it will all become clear.

*For Labyrinth's mask, just imagine Deathstroke's mask but full metallic silver and with no eyehole on the black side. I would add a link to the image I took the inspiration from, but ffn doesn't let me do links.