While they were working on the experiments, a series of loud thuds echoed down from upstairs. That was the sound of Medusa slamming people into the ground. Nelson was so absorbed in his experiments, he'd lost all sense of what was going on. Tyler frowned but figured Caroline would be fine. But as he handed Nelson a pair of tweezers, he heard the same pounding sounds again—Medusa was slamming someone else. Now Tyler was starting to worry. This plague was bizarre, and he'd noticed how those infected lay motionless at first, then suddenly began crawling. He suspected they'd been sedated or knocked out before being brought here. That meant there could be more people hiding somewhere. "These sounds aren't right. I'm going upstairs to check," Tyler told Nelson. Nelson ignored him, muttering to himself and staring intently at the data on his instruments. Tyler repeated himself, and this time Nelson reacted. He turned, staring at Tyler with unfocused eyes, as if he were just another piece of lab equipment. "Oh." Just that one word, then Nelson went right back to his experiment. Tyler gave Denton, who was sitting nearby, softly soothing Pinky, a last look. "Try not to scratch," he reminded him. Denton waved with a goofy grin. Tyler took the stairs two at a time, racing up to the 66th floor. On his way up, he heard two more heavy crashes, even louder than before. It was like something massive was being slammed into the ground. ... By this point, Caroline had already figured out these people's plan. Her hands were practically itching for a fight. No matter who these people were or what gang they belonged to, they were monsters. They'd tried to kill everyone in the shelter and started a plague, just to get their hands on the shelter's supplies! Boiling with rage, she motioned for Medusa to hurl two of the men to the ground. This time, Medusa used even more force. Caroline saw the two men's heads split open, teeth flying out from the impact. "Aaahhh!" At the same time, Handsy squeezed James so hard he thought his bones were about to break. James screamed at the top of his lungs. Once all three had passed out, Caroline's rage finally subsided. She dumped the three of them in a corner of the rooftop. Each was injured to a different degree—some were covered in blood and looked downright terrifying. But Caroline didn't feel an ounce of sympathy. She wasn't planning to go easy on them. She wasn't about to kill them yet; she still needed to interrogate them for information about their organization. With that in mind, she used her powers to splash a bucket of water over them. The cold shock jolted them awake. When they came to, they stared at the delicate, pretty girl in front of them as if she were some kind of demon. They tried to back away, but there was nowhere to run. If they even tried to move, the giant willow would swing its branches like whips. William got struck hard across the back, the pain nearly unbearable. Caroline slowly approached the trio and kicked James in the side. "We're going to do this one at a time. I'm going to ask you all the same questions. If your answers don't match, that means someone is lying. I have plenty of ways to deal with liars, so you'd all better be honest." After she finished, she gave them a smile that sent shivers down their spines. All three nodded frantically, terrified out of their wits. Caroline was doing this to make sure they told the truth. She could have used the Truth Helmet, but that would've been a waste on small fries like these. Violence was enough. She wanted every detail about the plague, hoping it might help Nelson's research. Caroline didn't notice Tyler standing at the entrance to the rooftop, watching everything with his arms crossed. His lips curled up in a slight smile as he watched. He'd worried Caroline might have been in danger, but now that he'd seen her handle things so decisively, he realized he'd been worried for nothing. This woman really does know how to surprise me! Tyler, however, didn't see the willow branch creeping up behind him. Medusa didn't know Tyler. All she saw was a man radiating danger, lurking in the corner, watching her master with a strange, enchanted smile.