@ KavenBach (Santi):  “Ah-ah!” Tim nodded, his entire body quaking, and darted for the bathroom.  There was some splashing and such, and he returned a moment later with the clothes, dripping tan on the rug.  One might have thought he'd cleaned it in the toilet all right, until he spoke.  “We had some water in the sink and shower pipes, but it's iron-ish unless you let it run a minute...” He hands it off and indeed it smells like iron, but cleaner than it was.  He also holds out, of all things, a roll of duct tape, and a COP 357 - a 4 shot derringer, and it looks like it's never been fired.<br/><br/>Shari bucks and screams a little more audibly, gushing blood from her throat, then falls back and shivers, going still.  The boy drops your clothes and gun in your hands and falls down to his knees, listening carefully, eyes watering, for a few seconds.  Then he smiles, just a little.  “She's breathing in her one lung... but it's steady.  I think it was just the pain...” He pulls back Shari's shirt, exposing her bare breasts, and starts taping the now-congealed wounds, before cradling her carefully.  The man in the jacket slides a few more bullets into the revolver.  “Thirty seconds!  Out the window, I want a head start!”  He waves the wand, and stares down into the inky night below, where frozen red and blue lights are visible.  “Figures.  UP!” He orders the both of you, sticking the mist-wand in Tim's back pocket as Tim was already heading first.  He gives you bare seconds, waving the gun around in his panic, but not threatening you with it.  Bringing up the rear, his balding head pokes over the fire escape.  The apartment was somewhat isolated in that it was still shorter than some of the other buildings – a jump would have been too risky.  Up here, at least half a dozen armed men stood still before a fuming helicopter, the blades unmoving.  “Don't get any closer to them!” He ordered the boy.  “We'll take them one by one, okay?!”  He reaches his hand out for the time-bubble wand.<br/><br/>@ Ome (Stella):  The metal dome falls and seals the four in like flavors parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, all locked in a battle to marinade the ultimate roast.  The question was, who would come out the strongest, and who would be tasted?  The bell could be heard, easily over the anticipated dull roar, and the dragon-blooded humanoid vanished in a blur.  Kira takes a swift step in your direction from the opposite end of the ring, only to have his head snap back and return in a bloody mist, a look of awe and confusion on his face.  She'd run across the top rope, kicked him in the snout, and was now darting her way up the cage to hang and wait.<br/><br/>The Firin' Oziran, on the other hand, was not quite as fast but was definitely nimble; he characteristically bounded past you, giving a playful wink, but avoiding you, starting to climb for Lilianna.  Perhaps he wanted to save you for last – perhaps he wanted you to earn your way to him by tearing through the wolf anthro.  Or perhaps the dragon-blooded was just too much of a threat for now.  Whatever the case, he was not out of reach – he was climbing the side of the cage she was on now, his cute human form fully adopting a gecko anthro now and lashing at her waist to attempt a quick meal.  And Kira looked back at you, knowing now who he had to concentrate on before things picked up.<br/><br/>Boy, was he looking bloody pissed...<br/><br/>@ Chiro (Onyx):  “Unhinged?” The professor laughs somewhere ahead, echoing throughout the depths as the light from above finally vanishes.  Suddenly, a red burst blinds the three of you, and his face stares out from it when your eyes come to.  He was close – closer than he sounded, by far.  “Aheheh, this is... fun.” He waves the torch around, getting a good look at the whole place.  Scratchings on the wall, here and there, he leads you further into the sewers with interest.  “Above ground when it gets dark, it gets to be stormy, very much so.  I have a feeling it's much like the bursts of entropy that are said to occur in the rottenlands just west of here, beyond the wall.  Sometimes the paradigm clash causes an imbalance that results in wellings of energy in one spot, and deficiencies in others.  Like out there.  When it gets THIS bad, this entire village won't let any technology-refined materials, like butane or gunpowder, burn, but it will allow for simpler oils.  Likewise, magic is a no-no here.  He blindly passes a wall full of scribblings, and then returns.  “'Ello, what's this?” He pulls the flickering torch closer, staring at the walls.  “Now fly from here unless you seek... to free the wild and tame the meek...” His torch travels down line by line.  “Beyond the Bakers' on the hill there rots a house of boundless will... and in the fact'ry deep below, you'll find gears still creak to-and-fro.  But judgment keep you strong unless you seek to free the wicked west...”<br/><br/>His eyes glaze over and he stares momentarily, blankly at the wall.  Then the professor rolls his eyes casually.  “Ah, crap.”<br/><br/>@ TaciturnTiger (Jori):  “Huh boy...” Carlos follows you up and beyond, keeping an eye out in all directions.  “We're on the second basement level now.  There's security right one floor above us.  I mean, I'm under the assumption lobby security's been conked, but the station might still be monitoring the whole building.  I'd like to just leave, but I've got friends here – and there's still the matter of that thing we found at the site.  They probably have it somewhere here in the basement... and I'll bet these creeps are after it.” He grits his teeth.  There's a dead end now, or so it seems, until Carlos runs another card, and it turns out this thick door leads not to a room, but to a second hallway.  To the left is a stairwell, before you what seems to be a still-secure area, and to the right, a locked office.<br/><br/>“I'd hope you stick with me...” He says.  “But I suppose you're free to leave.  Still, security upstairs, or the labs here?”[/u]