HELLBLAZER.

fionn swears he's not an idiot, but the guy talks and all he can do is stare at him, confused and concerned. delusions, maybe, or someone fucking around with chemicals and giving himself a weird trip while also causing black flames? except there's nothing he knows of that causes black flames. black smoke, yeah, but that's different. normal. this is...not. ❝ right, ❞ he says, for lack of anything better, gaze shifting from the building to the man, trying to assess if he needs to call an ambulance instead. he doesn't like this, feeling wrong-footed. he doesn't like feeling as though he's missing something big. ❝ it—bored? it'll get bored? the-the fire? ❞

okay, the fumes are getting to him too, clearly.

❝ um, fionn? i mean, that's not a question, it's fionn. ❞ thank god he's not on shift; this will have been called in by someone, and fionn doesn't envy the station commander having to deal with this. still, he can't tamp down his own instincts. ❝ sorry, do we need to be worried about the fire spreading? is there anyone else inside? ❞

#UNITLEAD "I know we like to believe we could withstand anything, interrogation, torture, but it's not true! I know that to my cost, everyone can be broken in time ... I will not betray my friends, my planet! Not as quickly as you need! "Rani's Kate Stewart. show and audio canon compliant [ promo ]

he's half-on the phone to the control room — not on shift today, but concerned nonetheless, only his training and lack of equipment stopping fionn from doing something really stupid, like running into the building to check nobody's inside still — but the sight of black flames has him stunned enough to forget how to talk. ❝ um, ❞ he says eloquently, pulling his lighter out of his pocket and holding it out in a daze, ❝ demonic flames? i—they've got to be someone's pay grade. that's...still fire? ❞ right? right?!