17219/Up in Smoke

Up in Smoke
Date of Scene:	09 April 2024
Location:	Warehouses
Synopsis:	First responders and other heroes show up to put out a fire amid a firefight. When the smoke clears, nothing is as it appears to be.
Cast of Characters:	Luca Bandoni, Frank Noble, Clint Barton, Tyrone Johnson, Doreen Green, Casey Jones
Tinyplot:	Little Fires Everywhere

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Luca Bandoni has posed:
It's just after dusk and the city had been mostly quiet from the perspective of the FDNY, that is until the got a call for a three alarm blaze in what's supposed to be an abandoned warehouse in the Tenderloin district. The burning building is one of the larger in the area, but it's short and squat, more long than it is tall and it has no windows save a few around the front doors. Three entrances, the front doors, the back door near the loading bay and the rolling bay doors. The warehouses flanking it stand taller, as do a few across the street.

Thick, dark smoke billows up from the warehouse obscuring the sky from view. First responders have already arrived, so why aren't they doing their thing and going in to battle the blaze?

Because they're pinned down on all sides by gunfire from the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. It's like a scene from a war. Firefighters are hunkered down beside their trucks, paramedics behind their ambos, police officers behind their cruisers. S.W.A.T. has yet to roll up, but it's probably just a matter of time. The worst part is, if a person can get close enough, there seems to be people inside. People calling for help.

"What the /fuck/?" Luca asks of no one in particular. It's his constant shadow of a buddy, Roscoe that answers. "No idea, but somethings gotta give or it'll be recovery, not rescue by the time we get in there."

Frank Noble has posed:
Frank Noble has told the Mice about his recent past and given them access to his files. What he didnt realize that would mean, was that Right would proceed to make some of the things he had encountered a Project, and begun scanning police scanners and identifying patterns. As such, Frank (as Frank) found himself in the area, and not super keen on doing much but investigating until the gun fire sounds, and before he can say "wait, wa-"

There is no one waiting in the passenger car, except now the super hero known as GRENADEMAN..." who grappels up to a nearby and while he sees Luca, and considers stopping to say hello and ask if the firefighters have instructions, the cries for help immediately redirect him by rappling over the fire, but a series of slick grenades are thrown down between the fight fighters and the warehouse which ...well, happen to be remarkably good at sucking out oxygen from fires though it does make the ground very slick; almost frictionless.

Clint Barton has posed:
Scene is NOT secure!

This is also NOT a SHIELD gig, no. It kind of, sort of resembles something an Avenger would take care of, but mostly? Actually, the SHIELD gig is 2 blocks down, and while it is frowned upon to //leave// one's post, this is Clint Barton, and there are times when he makes a different call. He's got 4 agents in place on his stake out, and after a call to superiors, he's got the go-ahead, and that there'll be a replacement for him. This three alarm at the address is... questionable.

'Go take a look.'

As Clint approaches, dark jacket collar up, and around his neck, the arrows still strapped to his back, his bow is broken down and looks little more than just.. a stick. The gunfire as he approaches gains his immediate attention, and flattening his back against a wall, the bow is brought to bear, arrow nocked even before drawing the next breath as he searches a target. The gleam of a barrel should do it for him.

"Oh hey," he murmurs, "Not cool. They're just tryin' to do their job..."

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Ty was trying to keep himself amused while Tandy was sleeping off the effect of her over-exertion at the United Nations. Someone playing light-my-fire time with a warehouse was just the sort of thing that would be not-boring. And then someone started opening fire and, well, that was the cure for tedium. He opened a hole to his Darkforce dimension, took a few steps, and then existed right in front of the burning building. And it was a good thing he was intangible as someone decided to try to blow his head off from a nearly rooftop. How rude!

Doreen Green has posed:
Fires are not a good thing. But smoke and fire is a good way to get attention. Or at least that's what originally got the attention of a certain aspiring heroine and her fuzzy compatriates.

And then it's both good and bad that Squirrel Girl's usual method of travel is by rooftop. Because she gets a first hand view and an earful of the gunfire. Instinctively she flattens herself against the roof surface she last vaulted onto, Tippy-Toe doing the same on her shoulder. "I was expecting to have to rescue people from burning buildings," Doreen mutters under her breath, "This is a more complicated matter."

Undaunted though she starts to creepy crawl across the the roof. Maybe she can find a vantage point to get a bead on where some of those gunmen are shooting from.

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey Jones had just been closing up the garage for the day, getting out the industrial soap to wipe the grease off his hands. He's wearing his garage jumpsuit, with CASEY printed on the left breast, albeit sightly obscured by the current set of stains. Hey, the old lady hadn't had an oil change in like five years, he couldn't believe the thing still started!

When he sees the smoke, though, he figures he'd better do his part. And just in case of trouble...

He's soon out the door and running down the street in his hockey mask, a golf bag full of sports weapons strapped to his back, one gloved hand reaching back to keep them from bouncing out. Gotta try to come up with a better way of keeping things from sliding loose!

He may have to stop and catch his breath a couple of times on the way. He ain't Captain America.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
Flames are beginning to lick at the buildings on either side. It won't be terribly long before they start to burn as well. It's always a concern when one of these warehouses goes up. What's inside? Could it be chemicals? Something downright explosive? This whole area /could/ be leveled if the wrong thing mixes with flames in the wrong building.

Luca adjusts his grip on the halligan in his hand and Roscoe warns... "Luca, don't."

Of course Luca doesn't listen, he's fully intent on trying to make a run toward the building, but the /second/ his head clears cover, a shot fires. It misses though and just manages to chip the paint on the rescue truck he's hiding behind. He lets out a growl of frustration as he's ducking back down. "Where the fuck's SWAT?"

...and someone's throwing grenades? The type doesn't really matter much, it's just the premise. "Seriously /what the fuck/?" Luca, Roscoe and the rest of the crew haven't really had the chance to take note of anyone else in the area. A few of New York's finest notice Grenademan and actually /groan/. But no one is making a move toward anything or anyone at the moment. The police officers present pop up here and there to get a shot off, but they're mostly shooting blind, it's doing no good.

The gleam of a barrel, Clint? Well there's no less than five on just the one building. Someone, or someones, really don't want that fire put out.

If Doreen isn't careful, she may just creepy crawl right into the boots of a gunman.

Up on the roof, one of the gunmen is positively perplexed when his shot goes straight through the head he was aiming at. As Casey gets closer, he might just be stopped in his tracks by a bullet hitting the ground right next to his feet.

Plus side? Seems they're not all expert markesmen, but they're getting close enough.

Frank Noble has posed:
Grenademan lands on the other side of some of the flames. Ah, bullets; those are dangeorus to first responders. He is a member of THE FORCES OF GOOD and therefore indestructable, ergo not worried about the bullets, but he throws down a single crystal grenade and to a few Fire Inspectors, its remarkably insightful into the behavior of the fire, guiding it in a way away from the people and ...

Frank, not Grenademan, is pointed to the the large pile of Natural Gas Canisters about three feet from the fire which no one else but Mr. Kind noticed through the body cam he wears hidden on his shoulder. Moving carefully in the direction of the cannisters, cape protecting him from most of the heat and bullets literally slinging all around him, one grazing him on the shoulder but he ignores the pain (indestructable doesnt mean you might not wish you werent...) and tosses three crystal grenades around the pile of Gas Cannisters. He might not be rescuing the hostages, but he is keeping the fire from getting WORSE.

A large crystal latice, as hard as steel and resistant to flames at this level, oxygenated but not fueling the fire comes into place just before a large wall falls on the cannisters.

Clint Barton has posed:
Oh hey, that's not right...

"No shooting at the firemen," is muttered as Clint brings the bow up to bear, and it's loosed within the next heartbeat. One, two.. each of the glints of gunbarrels will get an arrow. He's not necessarily aiming //for// the barrel, but moreso..

*flash*

One arrow is a flare; anyone inside is going to be blinded, and quickly. It should get the attention of the others.

"Give me a sec!" Clint calls out to the EMS, as he finally shows himself from the dark. Yup, a short-haired blonde with cuts and scratches on his face, and.. minus eyebrows. "I'll cover you!"

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green stops her creeping as soon as she spots someone else on the roof that she doesn't recognize. You spend enough time on NY's rooftops and you see a lot of its heroes (and villains) in action, and that definitely isn't one of them. Most of those heroes don't use guns either, so that's a big giveaway.

She's not going to fit in any proverbial boots, but she knows who would.

Doreen gets up onto one knee and reachs up to grab Tippy-Toe off her shoulder. Then stands the rest of the way up as she winds back, and with all her proportional strength of a squirrel Fastball Specials Tippy-Toe at the gunman!

An impact, sharp claws and teef, and in general a scrabbling scratching annoyance to make focusing on shooting a lot harder. Especially if she manages to get inside of any clothing. Boots or otherwise.

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey Jones finds himself suddenly under fire! Gunfire! Those assholes!

"HEY STOP SHOOTING I'M HERE TO HELP NUMBNUTS! COME ON DOWN HERE AND I'LL SHOVE THAT GUN--"

Okay, that's about when he runs into the side of the dumpster while cutting through an alley. He's only half a block away from the action, on the good side, but, ont he other hand, he is momentarily laying on the ground and trying to make sure he hasn't dislocated his shoulder.

Nope, nope, feels okay. Two weeks straight, no major injuries. Score!

He takes cover behind the dumpster and resumes taunting, "Come down here and fight, ya dingleberries!"

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Nice thing about being intangible is that Cloak really didn't need to breathe. So walking into the burning warehouse was not a big deal. The brightness of the fire was devoured by his Darkforce, leaving him looking like a living shadow walking into the wall and then presumably into the warehouse proper.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
Luca would be impressed by those grenades, if he could even stand to get a look at them. As it is now, every single time he makes an attempt to make a run for the building, another shot pushes him back. ...and everyone is preceded by the same, "Luca... don't," by Roscoe. One day, Luca might learn to listen to the old-er man.

It's not Clint himself that gets Luca's attention to begin with, it's the flash of the flare on the roof. Then the voice. He follows the former to the latter and ends up with the right conclusion. "Yeah! Some cover would be great! Do that again! Lots of again!" But where three are blinded, three more step in. It's beginning, to the trained eye, to look a lot like these guys aren't just goons. They're a trained team. Perhaps military before they took up the career of shooting at first responders.

Doreen might have just made an easy target for Clint. Dedicated, stoic and murderous or not, it makes no difference when there's a squirrel suddenly down your shirt and trying to make it down the pants to steal some nuts. One of the gunmen is up and dancing around like a drunk Irishman trying to do a jig.

The screams of the people still trapped inside the building intensify when things go unnaturally dark, but the heat remains. Most of them are huddled at the back of the building, near the loading dock in a small office.

Flames lick higher on the flanking buildings. Plus side, those buildings are two that some of the gunmen have take up residence.

"Let it burn!" A voice booms out, seemingly disembodied - it's more likely the person behind the voice is hidden away somewhere like a coward and using something to amplify the sound.

A few bullets ricochet off Casey's dumpster. On hits a carton of rotting eggs inside. So rotten that they explode on impact. That's gonna stink.

Frank Noble has posed:
Grenademan uses one, and only one Explosive Grenade, and it is tossed well, between the warehouse, first responders and gunmen making a ten foot crater and spreading rubble, but it also has a thermoberic effect, sucking up a lot of the heat; not putting out the fire, but lessening it.

The screams are too much to ignore, no matter how much strategic good is done fighting the fire while others might be tied up elsewhere, however, and Grenademan wraps his energy resitant cape around himself, Dracula style, and goes into the warehouse towards the victims.

Clint Barton has posed:
"Coming up," Clint offers with a flick of his head behind him, his attention divided only for a second between Luca and the men at the window. "I got a lot more.."

One arrow, two.. another flare, one goop, all landing in proximity rather than //on//. If they've got people coming in like old school field warfare, he's got to get a little reach.

"I'll keep their attention outside. I'm not gonna swear about in."

Clint might have a point there. But, doesn't the FD worry about that?

Sirens around the blocks, all announcing their approach. It may or may not be helpful, and there's that hope that someone gave them a sit-rep.

"Tell me when you go in! I'll follow." Clint's voice is canted so he can be heard above the noise. Fire absolutely is //not// his favorite thing, but he's also a 'boots on the ground' kind of guy, and, well.. this qualifies.

Doreen Green has posed:
While the guy is flailing about because he's got SQUIRRLES IN HIS PANTS Doreen jaunts over, ducks one of his thrashing arms, and swings a punch of her own at his face. "Time for a nappy-nap, jackass!" It doesn't sound nearly as intimidating as when the other Chanuk hero says it, but it should get the job done all the same.

The cute ears atop Doreen's head are just decorations on a headband or they'd perk up at the deep ominous voice booming commanding the building burn.

"Well, I think that's a good reason to not let it burn." Once the gunman is flat out cold Tippy-Toe climbs back out of his clothing, and the duo scoot over to the edge of the roof to try and get a new scope on how things are going. There has to be something they can do without blindly exposing themselves to the more concentrated clusters of gunfire. Hmmmm.

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey Jones knows better than to get in the way of actual firefighters. He's known a few, down at the bar, and even thought about volunteering himself sometime. He could hack the boot camp, he figured, and he was smart enough about practical things. Long as he didn't have to do any of the higher maths, he could handle himself alright. He could fix most anything.

Oh, and he was really good at physical sports.

Since he would only be in the way in the fire, he decides to use his best expertise and breaks into the nearest building occupied by a gunman, busting in a window if he has to in order to start making his way up and towards them. Any door in the way will likely be kicked down (after a polite knock if necessary).

He's not being subtle, but it doesn't have to be. He's not sneaking up on them. He wants them to be afraid. Also he's terrible at sneaking, he's not a ninja, he lives that to the turtles, as it should be.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
Sit-rep might be incoming, as soon as all the chaos can be sorted into something that makes any sense at all. Right now, it's all 'shots fired, so many shots fired and building in flames'. Even the finest and the bravest are having trouble making sense out of all of it. But Clint's getting a little too 'out in the open'. He may have taken down another round of gunmen and there actually aren't any that come up to back them up, but he's also starting to draw attention from the other rooftops. Lots of glinting barrels pointed at Clint.

Inside the building is no less chaotic. Flames and heat are never not chaotic, the added darkness does nothing to help the situation. It's damned near impossible to see inside, but following the voices could happen, even over the roar of the flames.

Nothing but chaos down below for Doreen to spy with her little eye. But the voice booms out once more, "Let it Burn!" The inflection and the volume sound exactly like the first time.

It'll take Casey just a little bit to find his way up to the roof, he's not Captain America after all, but he'll get there.

"Ready," Luca asks Roscoe. The response is a resigned, "No," that clearly means he's not going to do it just because he's not ready. "Ratliff, Benton, we're going in on my count. One, two, three..." The four make a run toward the building along with other crews from their house. It emboldens the two other houses present to do the same.

Paramedics hang back, as they should, no one lives if they're not alive to treat them. Police officers start popping off more shots, it's a distraction at least.

Combined with the other efforts from outside sources, the storm of bullets has become more of a slight summer shower. It's enough to get those that need to be going inside... inside.

Frank Noble has posed:
Grenademan says, "I really dont think I will" Frank says to the voice that wants to barb-i-q long pork as he moves out of the heat and tosses down another slick grenade, which does make the floor a hazard for those who dont see it but utterly snuffs the flames in front of him as he attempts to find or trianguate to those screaming for help. He desires to attack the voice...especially since given the sulphur found at the other scene, some part of him has suspicions about what it might be....

The innocents come first.

Clint Barton has posed:
It's always a mess. Particularly when a guy with a bow is involved. It doesn't ever make sense, and there are times when it's just not worth the effort. Now is actually one of those times.

The fact that barrels are pointing at him is exactly what the plan was; to draw the fire away from the guys just trying to do their job. Great. It worked.

"You'd better go," is encouraged. "I don't want to be out here any longer than I have to. Cover would be nice."

They actually don't call him 'Hawkeye' for nothing, though. He's seen the bits and pieces going on behind some of the gunmen. The fact that they've disappeared, and from the way it is looking, not by choice.

'One.. two.. three..!'

Clint brings his bow up to bear once more, getting a shot off as he moves to the side, drawing fire with one arrow after another now. One to a window for it to come crashing down, another flare arrow..

He'll be following them in...

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey Jones bursts through the door to the roof, but he's smart enough to use a diversion. He picked up - you guessed it - a garbage can on his way up the stairs, chucking it through the door ahead of him to take any fire.

He comes out low, his lanky body bent forward, bracing on one hand and then rolling to flick his hand out and fling an actual hockey puck straight at the face of the first gunman he sees.

Hopefully he sees a gunman first. Please be facing the right way, please be facing the right way, he mutters as he dives ahead...

Doreen Green has posed:
They say animals have a sense of their own when it comes to evil, sinister things. That may or may not be entirely true, but either way it would seem Tippy-Toe notices something and gives the side of Doreen's head a swat to get her attention. "What is it Tippy?" Doreen turns her head to look in the direction the squirrel is pointing. Squints a bit. "Is that..."

At first it looks like it might just be smoke drifting about the gunmen on the roofs because there is sure enough of it.

But then she sees the flicker of color. Of red in the darkness. Like embers.

Like eyes.

"I don't think that's just smoke..." Doreen utters. Tippy squeaks in agreement, and actually climbs over to huddle within the fluffy collar of Doreen's bomber jacket with a case of the heeby-jeeby. "It's okay girl, I've got this. You just wait on standby."

Something creepy is going on, but there is still the problem of the gunmen keeping the responders away from the fire. No telling who or what is inside, and if it spreads to any other buildings, it'll be an even bigger disaster putting more lives and property at risk. So as much as she'd love to go after the shadowy figure that might have something to do with all this, the disaster on site is still the primary concern.
Because that's what real heroes do.

Doreen uses that squirrel-like speed and agility to launch herself off the roof she was standing at, towards one of the other groups of gunmen. Don't worry if it's a bit of a drop, squirrels can take shockingly long drops down and be fine! She's aiming to come down amongst the men fast and a sudden, followed by throwing out quick punches and kicks and tail slaps to try and take some out.

Luca Bandoni has posed:
It's certain that at least one firefighter will fall on his, or her, ass once inside. But at least Frank is making a clear path toward those trapped inside. It takes little time for the firefighters to breach the liked doors and get inside, mostly due to the cover fire provided by Clint.

Once inside, once the darkness has abated, it's beyond a weird situation. There's nothing in there, nothing but empty shipping boxes and containers. Not a single reason or a single thing that anyone would /need/ to let burn. It makes less sense than the chaos outside.

By the time Doreen makes it to her rooftop of marksmen, the not smoke she spotted, is swirling around the gunmen. It even takes a pass around /her/ that, for a moment, might have her feeling as if someone pulled at the depths of her soul and turned it black and dark. It makes even /less/ sense, to everyone but Dorren, when the gunmen suddenly turn their weapons on each other until until there aren't any bullets left flying. Without the sound of gunfire, the silence is almost deafening.

...and just as SWAT rolls up.

"What the hell just happened?" ... "I don't have a damned clue." ... "Did they all just shoot /each other/?" The banter going back and forth on the police radios is anything but professional, but nothing about this situation fosters professionalism.

Frank Noble has posed:
Grenademan finds a bunch of boxes to rescue. But, not humanocentric, looks for Mice, Liliputians, Animated Toys or people made of Oxygen but finds nothing but crates, and in the crates there isnt even a power up. He clears a path to the people in the office with three slick grenades. It doesnt have total coverage, but it is able to allow the first responders to approach.

Curiouser and curiouser....

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Ty was about to let the darkness out, to smother the flames and teleport anyone still inside out. But just before he could let it all fly, he realized something fairly important. The floor was slick with something-or-another and most of the fires were already out. "Well, shit." he said aloud, his Boston accent coming through strong. "HEY!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Anyone still in here?"

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint moves in behind them, keeping watch on their current only entrance and egress. If it's lost, the firefighters are screwed. As he looks up and at those that might still take aim, their fire is being sent... in a different direction? He takes the beat, the breath to look down the level of his shafting, out at his targets and this turn of events.

Everything about this is beginning to scream 'not right'. Maybe an insurance ploy? Happens all the time.

Still, anyone even levels a barrel in his direction, it'll get an arrow plugged...

Doreen Green has posed:
That... feels just... just wrong. So deep, dark, and empty cold. Just.... words don't even properly describe it.

It could be argued that it's only the almost literal bottomless well of positivity that exists within Squirrel Girl that prevents her from doing something regretful. Even then she is taken aback by it, attempt to attack cut short as she steps back and huddles her jacket closer around herself, and the squirrel inside against the back of her neck. It takes a moment for her to cope with it... while the men turn on each other with their guns still raised...

"No do--" Gunfire cuts off the only plea Doreen could muster thanks to the shadowy effect. Then it's over.

"... damn ..."

Doreen understandably just gets as far away from that scene as possible. Terrible, terrible... to make them unalive like that...

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey Jones used to be scared of the dark as a kid. He just was, no weird trauma, no scars he can find. Just didn't like it. He's gotten used to it, as an adult, even thrived in it. He's a hunter in the dark, most of the time.

But this isn't the dark he knows. This isn't New York dark, it's otherworld dark, it's deep dark forest dark, Blair Witch dark. He wondered if his nose was running.

He's just crouched on the rooftop when it ends and draws away, blinking and with a tear streaked face under his mask. He didn't even really remember what he'd been thinking or feeling. But now he was sore and baffled and hungry. Really hungry.

"I need a god damn cheeseburger,' he mutters, pushing up to his feet.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Ty, after calling out for anyone to respond, finally catches the back office. With people in it! That probably need rescuing? It was a matter of a breath to cross the threshold to the Darkfoce Dimension, take a step, then exit into the back office. "Hey folks." he said, trying to be as friendly as he could, "Y'all need a ride out? Fires are mostly out if you wanna go out the traditional way, or I can help ya out. Guarantee you won't like it but you'll make it out alive."

Luca Bandoni has posed:
Once the threat of gunfire is gone it doesn't take long for the FDNY to do their thing. The people in the office, while some of them unconscious when pulled out by Ty or otherwise, will survive, most of those conscious will opt for the fast - in not easier - way out. That can't be said for the men on the rooftops. The coroner is going to be busy tonight.

But his most mysterious and perplexing work of the night will be dealing with the /one/ person that did perish in the fire. The burned remains will be found at the center of the warehouse.

On the way back out, Luca stops long enough to give Clint a quick, "Thanks for that," before continuing on outside with the rest of the crew.

But he glances back toward the building one last time.

Appreciation is spread out amid everyone that lended a hand, if not by Luca himself then by law enforcement.

From above on a rooftop, a shadow whispers, "It burned."

Frank Noble has posed:
Grenademan does not remain, but makes sure that the people are able to get out, but leaves before awkward questions arise like "Why are you carrying military grade borderline atomic weaponry? Why is there a bowling ball on your head? Why is your cape tinfoil etc. Once the people are safe, Grenademan leaves.

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green takes a moment to get her wits back in order. Which involves fishing Tippy-Toe out of her jacket and hugging the squirrel close, comforting both of them until she calms down. Emotional support squirrel.

Then she goes to do the less pleasant part of the hero business. The appreciation is good to hear, and helps to also perk her back up. But first and foremost Doreen makes sure to find someone official she can reaccount what she saw of the strange shadow entity and it's creepy voice, and making the gunmen turn on each other. Information is important to pass along.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint watches like, well, a hawk at the windows and roof. Nothing coming, he's making sure he's out of the way, but offering a hand to carry should he be pressed into service. Stretchers for any injured, crowd control; it's what he does, once the badguys are done.

"Hey, no problem," is given in return to Luca. "All good."

To look at the trucks, however, Clint looks back; same crew as was at the UN. He'll check on that later.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
A few people decided they wanted to take the experience route out. "Stay close. You won't be exposed long, shoudn't be that bad." he said somewhat ominously. Then he swooped forward to scoop a few people into the Darkforce dimension that he called home, two physical strides, then they were released out in front of the burned warehouse. "MEDICAL!" Ty hollered, hopefully someone was on hand to lend these people a hand. There was a lot of sobbing, reacting to something only they could see. As promised, the exposure was brief, but unprotected. And unprotected, Ty's Darkforce dimension fed on those that passed through it. It showed people the worst parts of themselves, their horrors. Their nightmares. It would take a long time tonight before Ty could put the sounds of their sobs out of his mind. So once the people were released, he fled back into the Darkforce.