Tony and the uniforms arrived on the subway platform to find EMTs sucking up dissipating sparkles with a handheld vacuum. They weren't collecting evidence. The volatile magic dust had medical applications, and the vacuum canister preserved it. Rick seemed upset about them hoovering up the victim but was controlling his emotions. Tony guessed he'd arrived in time to see Sword Guy's opponent die. Tony didn't like explaining he'd lost his man, but Rick absorbed the news absently. Per usual for a homicide, too many cops milled around the scene. On this occasion, their presence was especially pointless. A couple chunks had been knocked out of the station's concrete, as if something fast-moving had hit them. Aside from that, once the sparkles were vacuumed up, you couldn't tell a murder had occurred. Tony had no idea how they'd pursue the case. The combination of no body, no trace, and a killer who could poof himself away didn't seem promising. "Where's the victim's sword?" he asked, remembering the report of the fight that had led them here.
