Just like a crazed bunny rabbit voraciously snatching a carrot, Eyeblight took the bait—hook, line, and sinker.  As he raved on, the Wards' cunning antihero slipped away, masked by shadows and silence.  He returned to the ladder and ascended, as he would no doubt do the same in his organization's record-books.  In very little time he'd returned to the sunny world far removed from the dank, scarecrow-infested storm drain.  Here, he would do his duty.

A persistent buzz in his ears interrupted his moment of introspection.  Sonar's voice informed him that his aid would be needed, and Margrave -clenching his fist- swore beneath his breath.  How could the living loudspeaker outdo his enigmatic, inimitable intuition to arrive at the same clever conclusion as he?  Had the boy wonder not stolen his thunder, the Margrave imagined, his glory would have been that much greater (which, naturally, would have been pushed aside, as is fitting of the silent guardian, the unsung hero) but now he was reduced to following orders.  The thought made him furious...outraged!  Sick with anger!  As he began to walk in the direction of the hostages, he gnashed his teeth in frustration.  [color=8F9779]”So it is that the labors of he who is lost to history shall be forgotten once again...lost to the abyss of anonymity and insignificance.  Still shall I serve...”[/color]  Hands in his pockets, he sidled up to Martyr, whose face held a mix of incredulity and embarrassment.  [color=8F9779]”Never fear, sweet compere.  I am here to save the day.  But rest assured you, too, will get a chance to be useful.  Sometime...”[/color]  He gave a smirk before turning to the terrified, pleading hostage kneeling before them.

He held out a hand and focused.  If these bombs did operate using a dead-man's switch, he needed to completely toyify the explosives before the cut-off signal could tell them to blow up.  Deliberately, the Margrave worked himself up into a state of heightened stress, focusing on the thought that if he failed, both he and the innocent bystander would bite the dust in spectacular fashion.  Once he judged his emotional state to be sufficient, the Margrave leaned in to touch the collar.  Near-instantly, the device transformed into an assemblage of plastic, beeping as it did.  The noise almost made Elliot scream in fear, but it was cut off, and he managed to calm himself down.  With both hands the Margrave grabbed hold, and with the strength of a near-adult broke the newly-created plaything into two pieces, which he threw to the ground and stamped on.  Even after mangling them thusly, he made sure to kick the flattened scraps away, lest there still be some explosive power left when they reverted.  Fortunately, when the device 'reformed', it was completely defunct.

Following this, the Margrave moved quickly between hostages, attempting to keep his mental state high and his toyification accordingly swift.  Bomb after bomb he destroyed, scattering the harmless remains about.  Time was not, however, on his side.  Any minute now Eyeblight might get antsy and opt to blow the whole operation, in more ways than one.