They landed a little ways off from the actual building, but already it looked different from the Citadel Harlow was in just a few days ago. For one, there were like, several dozen heroes and robots standing outside the building. There were also a couple of signs that had Harlow’s superhero costume on it with a giant red ‘X’ crossing through it. Nothing with her civilian face though, which was a little odd. 

Harlow cursed aloud and then swiftly covered her own mouth. She pushed for Black Star to hide them behind a neighboring building. “Well, that’s just great” Harlow hadn’t expected to go through the front door, but it would have gone much better if she had direct access to the Citadel Security systems like she didn’t before. Or even just get close enough to the D00r-bots again. She frowned remembering the little upbeat machines that were programmed to say ‘hi’ to her and also keep a record of every single person in the building. Mostly the latter part. 

“What’s the funky lil’ map say? Maybe there’s a secret entrance.” Harlow retrieved the map from her pocket and poured over it. Most of the entrances were old, obviously. Some she could kinda recognize but they were definitely being used and/or guarded now. Best best would probably be…

“We might have to go to the roof, Cass.” She heard her scoff and then chuckle a little. “No, hear me out. Most people wouldn’t think we’d go to the roof-“ She started. 

“Because it is like 70% glass? Yeah, that does sound a little unbelievable.” Black Star interrupted. She looked around the corner again to make sure no one was coming near. Harlow looked back down to the map again, making sure she could cross-reference all the exits and entrances from the building she knew to this old map in her hands. The interesting part was that there seemed to be either a entrance or a secret room that was hidden near the roof. She wondered if it still existed. If it did, that would be their way in. 

“Look, you’re the one who said we need to infiltrate now. I’m making it up as I go, so don’t get snippy because we might get captured!” Harlow snapped, stuffing the map back into her pocket. 

Black Star Shrugged. “Or die. We could also die.” She whistled as she scanned the area, “Yeah, I’m thinking there are like 4 or 5 ways we could die before we even get in the building. Who even are these people?” Harlow rolled her eyes. 

“Probably new recruits. You know you haven’t worked here in like, 15 years right? There’s probably a lot of people you don’t recognize.” Black Star nodded. She wasn’t looking at the guards anymore, more so the general direction of the building. Harlow tilted her head. “Are you okay?” Black Star snapped to attention, then nodded again, a little more eagerly. 

“Yeah, of course. So, we’re heading to the very see-through roof?” Her eyes glowing in anticipation. Harlow nodded, allowing Black Star to carry the both of them up towards the roof. 

The Citadel’s roof is a large portion of glass, but there are more solid part for technicians to use when they need to fix ventilation or other matters of that nature. So it was the perfect spot. Harlow let go of Black Star and began looking around for the special “entrance” she saw on the map. She hoped it wasn’t remodeled by now. 

“Do i need to run interference or just keep a lookout?” Black Star asked. Harlow hadn’t heard her the first time, but when she said a third time, she waved her hand dismissively. 

“Why would you need to ‘run interference’? This part of the building has practically no eyes on it. I’d rather you keep a lookout, because i don’t want to get caught and it would be best if we could keep this whole affair private and damage-free-” She shot a glare in Black Star’s direction. “—for us and them.” Black Star huffed in response but began to wander the roof as well, making sure no one could see them. 

Aside from the occasional jump at every sound and light directed at them, Harlow easily found the entrance, which was actually designed to look like an extra vent. She thought it was cute, but then began to wonder how many of these secret exits and entrances there were? And how many of these did their enemy know about? 

Harlow shook her head. She got Black Star’s attention and brought her over to the secret entrance, which seemed to run directly into the building. It was a long, narrow tunnel which went directly down. To where, neither of the duo was sure. 

“Do you…want to go first?” Harlow suggested. Technically, Black Star could fly so she would be able to jump in without injuring or calling attention to herself. Black Star chuckled, taking a step back behind Harlow. 

“You must be outta your mind. How about this: I’ll make sure you don’t fall to your death. But you go first, since you have the map.” Harlow groaned. Swallowing whatever fear she had rising in her throat, she stepped closer to the entrance. She looked back to Black Star, holding out her hand. 

“Make sure i don’t die? Please?” She joked half-heartedly. Death by falling down a ventilation shaft is possible the second lamest way to die. First is slipping in a bathtub, but that’s beyond the point. She felt Black Star hold her hand. She looked behind her, locking eyes for a moment before jumping down. 

Thankfully, as long as held Black Star’s hand, she would be as weightless as the other wanted. It probably worked without holding her hand, but she didn’t want to find out if that worked while she was floating precariously in the vents. Instead, she let Black Star help her float down gently until the reached the floor. 

Once they stopped, they were in a room barely bigger than a broom closet. So the vent must have lead here for ease of access? Who would even use this? Harlow thought, letting go of Black Star’s hand before feeling around for a door or handle. She searched for a few second before stopping. “…Are you still floating? She whispered into the dark.

“Yep, well with  searching as you are, didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.” Black Star said, the shuffled around in her pockets, “hold up lemme get my phone out.” Harlow stood straight, putting her hands on her hips. 

“Gee, thanks.” She easily found he door now that there was an aerial light pointing the way, and she slowly opened it to peek at the outside. 

It was a hallway, though she couldn’t be sure which part of the building they were in. A couple of people were still here though, working the late night shift. Unlike the last time, Harlow thought. She was sure she would be spotted if she tried to walk out now though. Maybe they should wait until more people had gone. She was starting to wish she’d still had her uniform on. Before Harlow could turn around and let Black Star know of her plan, she felt herself being pushed out the door. “What the?! Cass!!” She sired out, but not before the were both in the middle of the hallway. Several eyes now focused squarely on them. 

Harlow slowly turned towards Black Star, who seemed surprised that there were so many people. “huh…”

Harlow wanted to scream. Instead she opted for a very intense glare because she need to now find the best thing to do next. But, Black Star made that decision for her. She grabbed Harlow’s arm and the both of them were floating again. “Think you should be using that map of yours, Harley.” Was the last thing Harlow heard before a series of alarms, squeal, yell and screeches were buzzing past her. Was Black Star just going to fly around the building before they got to where they needed to be?

Harlow reached into her pockets with her free hand. By the time she got it out and get an to unfold it, they were being chased by some of the superheroes they saw outside. Harlow groaned internally. This was not what she wanted to do tonight. 

They seemed to go through a dozen or so hallways, scaring even more people and gathering more superheroes and drones, until the were eventually stopped at the lobby. Harlow took a sharp breath, pushing previous memories out of her mind. 

“You need to get me to either a computer or a drone, Cass.” Harlow finally breathed out. She heard Black Star breathe out as well. 

“You want me to throw you? Cuz either way we’ll be surrounded and we are no where near close to what we wanted to do.” Harlow glared at the side of Black Star’s face. 

“Who’s fault is that?! I was coming up with a plan!” She yelled. Black Star ducked her head to avoid the yelling. Black Star set Harlow down, her eyes glowing again as she got ready to defend the two of them.

“Well, can you think of something now? What’s that map say?” Everytime someone tried to get close, they were pushed back violently. Black Star strained herself, like she was trying to hold back, which only made Harlow feel more pressured.  She hurriedly brought the map out and began looking around for some sort of exit. But there weren’t a lot of doors or windows nearby. And with the alarms blaring and the heroes closing in, she felt a little trapped. 

“Ugh!” She cried out. Black Star snapped her head in her direction.

“Okay, hold on!” She she pulled one hand towards herself, bringing a portion of the heroes towards them. then, she threw her hand forwards, knocking everyone back several feet. Some hit the walls, some went through the nearby windows. Harlow could only hope that they could fly or spare themselves heavy injury. “How about now?” Black Star asked, a little impatient. 

“I still need-” A drone smashed beside her head, obviously pulled back in by Black Star. Harlow fumed, glaring at her partner, who was now holding both hands to the sky, eyes returned to their normal color. 

“Sorry, sorry! You said you needed a drone right?” Harlow looked around, everyone that was surrounding them seemed to be incapacitated for now, but time was still ticking. More would come in soon. She leaned down to the broken machine bits. It wasn’t in tiny shards, but it definitely wouldn’t be operational anymore. Oh well. Harlow put a hand to the machine, trying to get any and all the information she could, about security measures, monitor schedules, and most importantly, the buildings’ map.

Now she’d be able to better figure out where they were going.