~~ The Guardians and Sniper ~~

Sniper heard a beep. In a lab, on nearly the other side of the Botanical Gardens, no such sound chimed. Instead, that tell-tale chime sent an invisible radio signal coursing through the airspace around the gardens. A signal, quick and fast, received by a similar device sitting in the loading bay.

The signal reached its destination, unfettered. A small device, a tape recorder hooked up to a microphone in the back, started to turn. The small tape within unspooled, the sound of static first running through all of the loudspeakers in the building before finally, a quite calm, effeminate male voice came through.

"Ladies and gentlemen. I give you art, in all its terrible, burning glory."

The tape stopped. Short and simple.

A spark flipped into a small box. The box, in turn, erupted in a massive, churning pillar of flame.

The whole back of the loading bay of the Botanical Gardens ripped itself open, torn apart by the curling smoke and the massive pressure as the fire roared out into the streets. The glass fell like quick rain, pooling on the grass around the gardens, as the incredible heat of the explosive chased it further still. Inside, the walls shook as the explosion rocked the lab, the lobby, and the rest of the building.

Flame seemed to carry instantly, as more explosives in the core of the Botanical Gardens started to go off. Time and again, Sniper - with the best vantage from the lobby - watched as similar spirals of flame covered the plants that made up the core of the exhibition. All around, those people who'd come here for relaxation turned and ran in desperate horror, as all around them, fire engulfed the building almost instantly.

It happened so fast. From the lab, no flame entered, but the flicker of red flame lights shone under the door to the garden proper. They could hear people screaming within, likely trapped within the massive firey columns.

From the lobby, Sniper could see the same. Handfuls of people, maybe a dozen in total, separated by the orange red death that now surrounded them.

Anna placed two fingers on each of her temples, reaching out with her mind as the chaos raged around her. "I'm going to see if he's here somewhere watching his masterpiece." Her mind opened and devoured the energy around her, sweeping through the crowd looking for emotions of calm among the panic. Hoping to find that the criminal was still here to watch his own personal display of ashtray art.

There was no calm in the minds around them. Everyone, save for the Guardians, was in a panic.

No, wait. One mind was processing differently. In a familiar way.

Sniper. She could sense Sniper's mind here.

Sniper? Anna watched as her companions flew to help the trapped civilians. The heat of the fire was quickly becoming almost unbearable and she wasn't sure that she was equipped to deal with the rescue effort. Mentalists were notoriously weak and she was no different, it wouldn't serve any of them if she became a victim to the flame.

Lotus didn't need her own eyes to see it -- the burning plants told her all she needed to know, showed her where the humans in the gardens were, and more. "Getting locations of the survivors now," she said calmly. "Why aren't the sprinklers coming on?"

The only crowds seemed to be in the main arboretum. That meant they could focus their efforts there. That said, there were a few blind spots here and there that she couldn't use, like washrooms, closets, boiler rooms, and most of the loading bay. Anywhere there was a plant, with the exception of the main arboretum, there was no one.

In the arboretum itself, she saw nine people. Two groups of three near the middle, a pair off to the far west (the far side from where they were), and a single person near the south east corner. All seemed in some way trapped, be it by flames or fear.

The person off to the far west seemed to be in the most distress. Some of the glass from the overhead ceiling had fallen on her and cut her badly. She was stumbling about, trying to leave the area, but the loss of blood had been bad enough that, coupled with the shock, she was stumbling like a drunk. She inched closer and closer to the flames, despite trying to do the contrary. Her friend, whoever she was, was unconscious on the ground behind her. No one else would be able to see her; it was only by seeing through the oak, with the right vantage, that Wild Lotus could see her.

The person in the south east seemed to be in the least distress. A janitor, it seemed, he inched his way carefully towards the door, keeping his back to the wall. Of all of them, it seemed most likely he'd rescue himself.

Everyone was alive. Everyone was in a panic.

"We've got to help them!" Paladin leapt towards the main garden, jets flaring in the strange firelight, his flight carrying him through the intervening doors.

Paladin saw the two groups of three people first. One group was younger folks, teenagers or young adults, who were sitting on a bench when the explosions went off. One of them, a young man, was on the ground, clutching slowly at his face. His friends were in a panic, a boy and a girl who were batting away at flames on their fallen friend's clothes. They were surrounded by little in the way of flames, but they were closest to the main oak tree that formed the centerpiece of the arboretum. Given that it was in flames, and the weight of the branches, their danger would be sudden if it collapsed or broke.

The second trio was three older women, well dressed but currently frozen with terror. They were clear of the oak, but long gardens of grass had lit ablaze quickly, and kept them pinned in their position. They screamed, barely audible over the flames.

Iron Maiden followed Paladin immediately, flying through the doorways and out into the main garden. "Talk to me, Lotus," Leah said into her comm. "Tell me who most needs help."

What walls Paladin hadn't plowed through, Iron Maiden finished off. She exploded through the metal and granite, erupting into the main arboretum beside her ally, taking in the site.

**You and Paladin should see the six in the center, two groups of three,** Lotus replied over their comm links, now watching Paladin and Iron Maiden in the garden as well. **I'm heading to the western quadrant for two more, one of whom is badly injured. Paladin, please use your suit's communications array to signal 911 if you have not already. Regroup in the courtyard just outside the main entrance with your casualties.**

Something irked Paladin strongly about Lotus's words, but he shoved it aside. It wasn't the time for thoughts like those.

With that, she turned back to the spider plant. Before she left she glanced at Shimmer. Long hours of training told her the woman could hear around her even when deep into her mental capabilties. "There's one lone man left in the southeast quadrant, an employee of the DBG. I'll be back for him if you don't let me know beforehand that you've got him."

Shimmer nodded her head at Wild Lotus, but from the look on her face told her that something else was troubling her. "Sniper is here." She said, just as WiLo disappeared into the plant.

With that, WiLo slippped through the spider plant and into the western quadrant of the arboretum, emerging up through the grass itself from just behind the woman who was in shock. "Hold, dear lady," she said soothingly. "I'm Wild Lotus from the Guardians. Come with me and I'll get you and your companion to safety."

Over roaring flame, sizzling plants, shattering glass, chatter in the communicators, and the sounds of distant sirens, somehow the woman that Wild Lotus appeared behind still managed to trump them all with a short, sharp yelp. As if she were startled. Stumbling, lost, weak as she was, she didn't seem cognizant for long; only long enough to issue her vocal scream, before her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed into Wild Lotus' arms.

With the trademark calm for which she'd been both praised and criticized, WiLo simply shouldered the unconscious woman, then stepped over to the unconscious body on the ground. The plants were on fire and she wished she could save them too, but right now human lives had priority. She knelt, touched the second body, and all three of them sunk down through the lush grasses, reappearing in the courtyard a heartbeat later.

The two people, unconscious, could offer nothing. Outside, now away from the sounds of the roaring fire and the alarms, Wild Lotus could hear the sirens wail as they approached.

Getting back inside would have to happen now. With the vegetation burning and dying, it wasn’t going to be long before there wasn’t anywhere easy or safe to teleport back in to. But could she leave these people out here alone?

Lotus knelt beside the two, checking their vitals, using the training once gained under the auspices of the SFFD to ascertain the extent of their injuries. Both of them were horribly injured; she had no way to know whether Paladin had indeed alerted 911, for he'd not confirmed it. Knowing her comrades could handle the rest of the rescue attempt, she closed her eyes momentarily and reached into her heart of hearts, feeling Lakshmi's healing hands reaching through her. Murmuring a soft prayer, she placed her cupped palm over the man's forehead, feeling the spores releasing themselves from her hand, directly into his skin.

OOC: Paramedics 12- to ascertain which one is in need of help first. I'm assuming it's the man since he was out when she got to him, but if it's the woman please change to reflect this. Then the power she's using is Healing Spores: Healing BODY 4 1/2d6, BODY and CON simultaneously; 8 Charges.

The man seemed to be in worse shape. Something had struck him in the back, probably debris or shrapnel from the explosion. It had knocked him out, and he'd suffered some burning to his extremities. That said, the healing spores washed over him, making quick work of the hot flesh and yellow bruises that covered him.

The woman was in a surprisingly better state, but she too seemed to have suffered a blow. Her injury seemed more like a mild concussion, based on the symptoms; the fact she'd managed to stay standing and cognizant as long as she had was a bit of a surprise.

There too, the healing spores washed over her, cleansing much of the pain and damage away.

Iron Maiden swooped down toward the trio of teenagers. "I'll handle these three," she said to Paladin via her comm. She eyed the burning oak tree warily. It didn't look in immediate danger of collapsing, but she'd keep an eye on it.

Leah landed by the prone boy, startling his friends. "It's okay," Leah said to them, whipping off her cloak in preparation to smother the flames. "You'll all be fine. Your friend will be fine."

Crack. Snap. Then it happened. The Oak tree was one of nature's true giants, a massive structure of solid, heavy, powerful wood. When one of the arms snapped off, it turned into a falling club, huge and heavy and impossibly fast. It tore through the lower branches, giving Leah only a split second to react before it reached them. The teens would be of no help; they hadn't even heard the noise before the branch started to plummet.

(Dammit,) Leah thought. (I knew should have just pushed the tree over.) She dropped her cloak over the prone boy. His friends would have to use it to smother the flames. Leah launched herself back into the air, straight up with airs spread, ready to intercept the falling limb.

It was heavy, and hot, but she caught it with a firm grip. As she did, ash and flaming wood fell lightly off the ends, brushed off by the unexpected impact of being caught. Below, the three youngsters worked at putting out the flames of their friend.

Leah glanced down, hoping the falling debris didn't harm the kids below. There wasn't much she could do about it at the moment. She flung the burning limb toward an unoccupied part of the garden, then alighted beside the burning oak. Setting her feet and leaning her hands against the tree, Leah pushed to uproot the tree and topple it away from the three kids behind her. (I should have done this in the first place,) she thought to herself.

Oaks, as per their namesake and trade, weren't pushovers. Hefting the oak out of the soil was a true chore, forcing a surprisingly large amount of force. In doing so, each quake of the oak sent more ash and hot embers falling to the ground, a red neon rain that was harmless, but bode poorly for the end of the scenario, should any more of the tree fall.

Finally, some of the roots in the back, under Leah's feet, started to splinter and give way. They let loose of the earth below them, and the tree started to shift. She actually had to lift it upwards to finally heft the last of the long roots out enough that the tree would fall.

When it did, it struck the ground of the garden hard, sending a shake through the whole building. Loose glass from above fell harmlessly down, but the now-available tree started to burn even faster. The smoke was so thick, it was becoming a choking noxious fume.

The smoke wasn't bothering Leah, and wouldn't for a long while yet. But she needed to get the threesome out of here now. You weren't supposed to move an accident victim if you could avoid it, but getting them out of a deteriorating situation was reason enough. A quick flying hop brought Leah back to the ground beside them.

She scooped up the unconscious young man and draped him over one shoulder in a fireman's carry. Holding him in place with a forearm across the back of his knees, Leah held out her hands to the others. "Give me your hands," she said. "We're getting out of here."

The armored Guardian breezed through the fire as if it wasn't there, protected as he was. Reaching three women he said, "Time to leave, ladies." He took one in either arm, stooping a bit to get the crook of his elbow under their hips in a secure grab that treated them less like a sack of potatoes. The third woman he stepped to so as to be face-to-face.

"Arms around my neck, and hold tight. We're getting out of here."

She looked at him, shaking. She wrapped her arms slowly, carefully around his neck, and stepped up on his feet, like a child dancing with her father. They took off, upwards.

Barely twenty feet in the air is when her grip slipped. She was too shaky, too nervous, and without even a sound, her hands slipped free of one another. She fell back towards the ground.

"Oh, crap!" was Paladin's instant reaction. He cut his jets and fell, transferring the woman on his right to the other side where he now grasped both of them tightly around the waist - probably too tightly but it couldn't be helped. His newly free hand shot down to try and snag the falling woman before the floor snagged them both.

She fell, flailing her arms lightly. When Paladin cut his engines, aided by the sound of his own Predictive Reflex computer warning of the event, he fell faster, having more weight and better aerodynamics for the fall. Still, they weren’t high enough for him to safely reach down and catch the woman as he would’ve preferred.

Instead, he reached out with a foot, scooping the woman on the top of his calf mere inches from the floor. It wasn’t a comfortable catch, and from the look on her face, it had hurt her a bit. Still, beat hitting the floor with full force; that she likely wouldn’t have survived.

~~ Sniper ~~

He should have seen that coming.

A moment of shock. A flash of anger. There would be time to beat himself up later. Sniper shifted into gear and scanned the chaos for priorities.

A surprising number of people were fleeing. Even more would be unable. Sniper snatched up the collar of a young man in a janitor's suit. "Call ze 9-1-1," he instructed sideways and dropped the young man.

Women, children, elderly. Sniper wasted no time and threw himself through the glass lined maw and into the fiery throat of the burning Gardens.

Sniper, upon bursting through the glass, saw Paladin and Iron Maiden up in the distance. How ironic. How fortuitous. How odd.

There didn't seem to be many people milling about here now. He could see some innocents up near his colleagues, and a woman to the west who looked badly hurt.

Sniper was going to move ahead, to help with the rescue effort, but his teammates had moved with impressive speed. Still, the size of the room, the layout, it didn’t make sense. He’d followed two strangers in here, and now only a spilt can of paint seemed to mark that they were even here. He’d expected to find them amongst the victims, and yet he didn’t see them at all.

He turned to look at the paint again. Despite the flame, the burning, it didn’t burn. Despite the ash-covered floor, the soot and filth that roiled around on the tile near the door, the paint was as clean and clear as the moment it had been dropped. Not a ripple marked its surface, not an ash pocked its color.

As if a bottomless well of oddities, the day grew stranger still. Sniper double-checked his surroundings once more before closing in on the overturned paint cans.

Red paint, in a perfect crimson pool, peaceful and oblivious to the burning chaos around it. He stood over it for a moment, shielding his face from the searing heat that beat at him from all directions until finally he knelt. Its perfection annoyed him, almost as much as it perplexed him. For a moment the burning grotto shrunk away, Sniper at the center of a void in time. A hand reached out, a defiant act, and a finger swiped through the spill.

Sniper's finger passed through the paint. Not through the liquid, not through the tone, but through the paint. As his finger came up from the swipe, it did so clean, as if there were no paint there, as if no floor, no Earth, had obstructed his pass.

"Ze hell...?" He drew back with confusion, then coughed violently. The smoke was thick and getting worse. The flames licked towards him and the heat seared his neck and face. Sniper glanced up and around, back towards the door and again at the paint.

Anna had maintained a watch on Sniper's mind as she watched the heroics of her teammates. Her own mind was a mixture of concern and suspicion over why the Russian was here. He had always held himself aloof from the group, but certainly he couldn't be involved in this. Could he? When she felt his own confusion mingle with hers, she knew that there must be something wrong, and she tried to force her mind into his. {Sniper! What are you doing here? Are you ok?}

"Some-zing is not right vith ze paint..." distracted; focused on the pool of red, he spoke his response aloud. It was cryptic, but there wasn't time for a full explanation.

He had to decide. In a moment, the fire would be too close or even cutting off his escape. Without a second thought, he leaned forward with both arms.

Shimmer doubled over in a fit of coughing from the smoke, and took off in the air for the nearest exit. {What paint? Where are you?}

"Lotus to Guardians," WiLo said, keying her comm unit to contact her teammates still inside. "You should have been out of there by now. What's going on?"

"On...my way....out." Shimmer was still coughing from the smoke that had made it's way into her lungs. "Sniper is still in there! Something about the paint not being right?"

~~ Outside ~~

The Guardians, with the notable exception of Sniper, collected outside. There, they reeked of smoke and sweat and fear, where those they’d saved had hugged or held to them. Inside seemed empty, safe, but standing on the lawn and watching the Botanical Gardens start to crumble didn’t make them feel like they’d done a good job. It was a shame, a crime of the highest order, that a building like this would be ravaged.

Shimmer's expression was furrowed with concern as she looked at the rest of her companions. "Sniper was in there. He seemed ok but I don't think he's gotten out. He was worried about some sort of paint."

Leah laid the injured young man on the lawn, hoping that carrying him out of the Gardens on her shoulder hadn't worsened his condition. The other two were anxiously hovering over him. Leah was about to ask if anyone with real medical training could take a look at him when Shimmer spoke.

Leah turned to face her. "Paint? Red paint?" Then the other part of Shimmer's statement caught Leah's attention. "Wait--Sniper's in there? Still? Where?"

That last question came over her commlink as Leah took flight again. She hadn't seen Sniper inside before and it was going to be a lot more difficult now with all the smoke. But if he hadn't made it out, he might be in trouble. She headed back toward the interior of the Botanical Gardens. "Shimmer, where was he?"

OOC: Unfortunately Shimmer's player ran off to GenCon and didn't get a response back before she left. At least, I think Chairman's already gone. Hope she's not.... :(

Wild Lotus checked the victims Iron Maiden brought out, her Paramedics training having to suffice until the ambulances arrived.

OOC: Paramedics 12- If any of them are seriously injured, she'll use another dose of Healing Spores on them.

Paladin looked down at WiLo and gave her a 'good job' head nod.

**Paladin to Control, Denver Botanical gardens is a loss. We need first responders: fire and medical. We managed to evac the civilians but the suspect or suspects are gone.**

While he talked, Paladin activated Sniper's comm unit's GPS beacon. His helmet's heads-up display laid out a map of the immediate area that would continue to expand until Sniper's signal was found.

OOC: Paladin is updating HQ and getting a fix on Sniper's position.

~~ Inside ~~

Behind him, ash and soot that fell on the paint pool drifted through the painted doorframe on the wall. He could still smell the smoke of the Botanical Garden.

Sniper was on. His adrenaline was still pumping from the explosion back in the gardens, but this was one step further. This portal implied more than simple goons and homemade bombs.

He cycled through his vision enhancements until he found the right one and gave a quick thermal scan in all directions. If he hadn't wasted too much time, he might still be able to detect their fleeting heat sigs, or maybe footprints.

(if so:)
Perfect. A swap of attachments and the gun was out. A ripple of color and Sniper, camouflaged in the color of stained subway tile walls, took off in a sprint in the direction of the thermal trail.

(if not:)
He scowled bitterly. Still, if he hurried, he might get lucky: Sniper headed for the north stairs. At least he could get an idea of where he was.

Mini bump. If those of you outside the Garden would like to take any actions, please do so. I'm going to move things ahead in a few days, but this is another one of those moments where I'd appreciate it if you kids could move things ahead on your terms. :) "Go get 'em", or something like that, right?