The One-Seven

Chapter 12: Ashes To Ashes

Building on forty-third and forty-second just crumbled! Another plant just burst through the ground!

Got civilians trapped under rubble near the one-oh-two!

The bridge over Gotham river just collapsed!

Getting reports of gas coming from the plants, repeat: reports of gas coming from the plants. All units, proceed with caution.

It's Joker Gas, that Bastard!

Just received a report that Batman, Shazam, and Zatara are working on eliminating the plants near Police Plaza. Black Canary spotted near the turnpike! Has anyone heard from Dr. Parker?!

Percy did his best to ignore the chatter squeaking from the radio at his hip, unless he got word of something in his area, the reports were unhelpful to him at the moment.

It was getting hard to see through the lenses on his gas mask, he had retrieved it from the trunk of his car, along with his department issue shotgun, shortly after leaving Vale at the bar. He had seen several pods from one of the plants burst, covering a group of nearby firefighters' in a noxious looking yellow-green gas. Within moments, the firefighters had collapsed to the ground, laughing uncontrollably until they started foaming at the mouth. Before long, they had been little more than twitching, lifeless husks.

There had been nothing he could do.

Theoretically, Percy didn't need the gas mask. He hadn't actually ingested the poisonous gas yet, but he found out during his time overseas, that he could filter most toxins and poisons out of his body. Still, he needed to keep up appearances, with Batman already knowing about his abilities, he couldn't risk anyone else finding out what he was.

There was an explosion a few hundred yards from where he was running, as the underground pipes of a nearby gas station ignited, and the entire building blew. Over the roar of the flames, and the blaring sirens of nearby patrol units, Percy was able to make out the sounds of screams coming from near the building.

Changing his trajectory, Percy took off as fast as his legs could carry him, in the direction of the inferno. He momentarily considered the ramifications of charging into the inferno, but ultimately decided against it. It wasn't that he was afraid of the fire, after an encounter with a Wyrm in his youth he had discovered that he was largely immune to fire. Still, he would need to move quick, it would look strange if he came out unscathed from running directly into a wall of literal fire.

Vaulting over the flaming hood of a parked car, Percy followed the sounds of the screaming, and charged blindly into the burning gas station. Flames licked at the sides of his clothing, and at the soles of his shoes, but he ignored it, kicking the door of the building in, and running into the blazing store.

"GCPD," He announced, "Is there anyone in here?"

"Over here, help!" Someone called from over by the counter. Percy fought his way through the fire, and the collapsed shelves of snacks and other gas station merchandise. What had once been the check-out counter, was a charred pile of rubble, and Percy could make out through the smoke, the small form of someone desperately clawing at debris. It was a young man, his clothing coated in soot, and charred from the flames. Skidding to a stop, Percy knelt down next to the man, placing his shotgun on the ground next to him, and began clawing through rubble at twice the speed as the man beside him.

Within moments, Percy had successfully dug through the debris, and saw the blue fabric of a shirt. Grabbing a fistful, Percy pulled, successfully yanking out the small body of the little girl trapped under the rubble.

"You're ok sweetheart, I got you," Percy said softly, yanking his mask of, and securing it around the girl's head. With as much smoke in the air as there was, he didn't want to risk the girl inhaling too much of the noxious fumes, it would be incredibly more hazardous to her developing body than to Percy's.