Harlow gasped a little louder than she should have. Before she even knew she was standing on the stairs, she felt something whiz past her face. She pulled a hand to her face and realized she’d just been shot at. Both of the doctors were looking at her in surprise. 

“Well, well, well…” The mystery man was now pointing the recently-fired gun at her. He had a dangerous edge to his tone, and his focus never dropped from Harlow. “How nice of you to join us tonight.” He said, moving slowly past the doctors. Dr. Gizzard immediately made eye-contact with Harlow, and her gaze darkened. Harlow dropped her hand from her face and began reviewing her options. There was a limited amount of technology she could manipulate here. Maybe the projector, or even the computer screen itself. Unfortunately, a gun was too simple of tech to use if things got dicey. 

“Nothing to say, Technomancer? No…questions you may want to ask??” Harlow wasn’t sure why he sounded like he was goading her. Maybe because he’d already decided how he wanted this to end. Dr. Gizzard spoke up, possibly unintentionally.  

“I asked her to come tonight.” She started, “I-i needed her to bring back my material for the presentation, sir.” She ended with a high-pitched squeak. The man side-eyed, then turned his attention fully to Dr. Gizzard. “Ah, so this is your doing.”

He turned around fully to Gizzard, and Harlow felt it was the best time to slip away. 

“I’m very sorry then, doctor.” There was a loud bang! Bang ! Bang! Harlow watched as Gizzard stepped closer to the table, leaning onto it while holding her freshly received bullet wounds. “That is something that i cannot forgive.” Harlow and Beauregard looked in terror as Gizzard slumped to the ground, making a very uncomfortable gurgling noise until she finally just…stopped.

Harlow took a few steps back up the staircase. She wasn’t sure what to do, mostly due to the severe disadvantage she found herself in. She exchanged looks with Beauregard and could tell he was just as unable to think as she was. What could he do? The man has proven himself capable of tying loose ends. Harlow took a sharp inhale, and suddenly the gun was back on her. “Where were we?” He asked slowly, steadying his aim. 

Harlow took off back up the stairs, bullets whizzing past her at an almost unseen amount. it actually felt like maybe he was reloading the gun, but there was no way to tell because she was not going to wait and find out. She ran back into the meeting room and spared only a second to look behind her, just in time to catch whoever it was slamming into the wall with the force he was using to chase after her. But now she was upstairs. She placed her hand onto the wall, eyes glowing the brilliant blue they had before. 

When mystery man tried taking another shot after gaining his bearing, the lights began to go off, as the meeting rooms systems had been turned on. Harlow made sure to  speed up the door closing process before running out of the room just in time. Bolting into the hallway, she looked at her options here, she could either run to the elevator or she could run into the monitor area and pray someone was actually working today.

She heard another bang from somewhere behind her. Was he shooting himself out of the meeting room?! Couldn’t he just open the door?? Harlow thought frantically, then remembered she suggested the technology stay shut for her own health. Oh oh yeah… She ran out of the meeting hallway and made her way to the monitor area. 

“Hello?!? Anyone here!!” She cried out. She could barely feel the wound on her cheek anymore, and was almost entirely running off of adrenaline at this point. Her mind kept trying to go back to Dr. Gizzard, just laying on the floor. Writhing. 

She snapper herself out of it. Not the time, Harlow. Finally reaching the epicenter of the observation deck, the monitor area. Rows of computers and screens, each with a different image across the globe. Some were still focused on Graves City itself. It was like walking out into the open, the domed glass roof and windows bringing all the light of the city to this one spot. Harlow was agitated to see not a soul in sight. 

“Oh come on!! No one! Seriously!!” She yelled, frustrated. She ran through the large room and glanced again for any sign of life. No one. Not a single person was here today. Harlow was going to scream, cry, throw stuff, whatever she needed to do in a couple of minutes. “What the hell is the point of 24/7 surveillance if no one is here when you need it??” She cried out, quickly glancing over her shoulder. She figured she could still signal for help from another hero using the computers then. 

Before she could even reach for the computers, she felt a sharp pain through her shoulders. She bit her tongue, and sharply reach her other arm to hold her should which was now bleeding out. Dammit… Harlow turned to face the man who been adamant about shooting her this evening. She took a sharp breath, trying to concentrate on anything other than the pain searing through her left side. Trying and failing miserably to regulate her breathing patterns, she sucked her breath in all at once. Then gasped desperately. 

He pointed the gun at her, eyes unwavering. If anything he looked bored, like he was hopping for something much more exciting to happen tonight. Even after killing someone. She wasn’t a fool, she had an advantage even with an injury. And what was he gonna do, kill her? Really? In a building full of some of the most powerful heroes on the planet.  She’d bet that he had something else in mind. Like whatever he did to Henry. She thought, now completely focused on how to get out of the room. 

She heard the gun click, and then dove for the desk next to her, crouching and covering her head when sparks and glass flew. He might’ve been tired after all the running he had to do too.  Maybe he bullets ran out? She wondered, peering over her cover to see why the pause, only to be greeted with several dozen more. Pretty sure that thing is a regular ass revolver!! She screamed internally. Unfortunately for Harlow, she couldn’t go many places in the room, which only had two exits: the hallway she came from and the hallway on the opposite side of the room. And she definitely wasn’t going to be able to leave through the hallway she came from. 

“We can’t do this all night, Technomancer.” The mystery-man’s voice sounded closer than before. He was definitely trying to get the jump on her, he wasn’t even pretending otherwise. Which really irritated Harlow. She’s faced a lot of villains in her day, and this one sounded so “this was the end from the very beginning”. She couldn’t even call it being cocky or coy, cuz he just didn’t sound like he enjoyed this part of the job. She couldn’t imagine being killed by someone who acted like this. “The sun’s to be up soon, so let’s make this quick.” He said, voice dangerously close to her now. Guess she had no choice. 

It was a disgusting choice for a diversion tactic, but she’d seen it been done before. When she heard the footsteps right beside her, she sprang to her feet, slinging the blood trickling down her arm at her assailant’s eyes. He stumbled back, finally surprised by her actions, and moved to wipe the blood from his face. She ran past him, back to the hallway she entered from. 

But first, she slammed her hands a little too forcefully onto a nearby computer, eyes glowing once again. She almost screamed in her head, I NEED HELP! SEND SOMEONE ANYONE!! And like that, she activated the building security protocol. She ran and ran, living her left arm limp beside but hopelessly holding onto it with her right. She made it to the elevators and despite the security alarms blaring and screaming around her, she simply touched the elevators and forced them to move for her anyways.

She did this until she made her way back out of the building. The D00r-bots saying goodbye to her as she left. She found herself gasping, like she held her breath for much longer than she did. The adrenaline was leaving her body quick and becoming replaced with the stinging pain from her arm and shoulder.  Figuring she could definitely drive one handed, she did just that. And with every light she passed on the way, she kept wondering if she actually got away. 

Mystery man however, was very annoyed. Not upset, not enraged, not even very disappointed as he’d previously stated. Dr. Beauregard ran up to him, panting and looking very disheveled. He had spots of blood on the bottom of his coat and on his pants. 

“Wha-what do we now, director? With Dr. Gizzard d-gone…” He said between hurried breaths. The mystery man-the director, finished wiping his eyes and put his gun away. He gave a quizzical look then began to walk down to the main lobby. That’s where the cops were going to be anyway. 

Dr. Beauregard paused, then quickly hurried to match the larger man’s steps. “Director? The project will be at a standstill without Dr. Gizzard’s research. A-and we have t-to figure out what to do about Technomancer, as well…do we have- do we have a plan??” He ran straight into the director’s back. Bored, unmoving eyes meeting his own, with were dilapidated at best and breached with tears. 

“We? You have to warn the public about this incident.” The director stated evenly. “You tell them about Technomancer’s infiltration, and you tell them,” He started to punch the number he needed to go the main floor. 

“About Technomancer going rogue and murdering Dr. Gizzard” Dr. Beauregard looked stunned about his new orders, he just watched as the elevator doors closed in front of him. Leaving him alone with this new mess he had to clean.