An odd silence stretched out across a few Voltham blocks, absent from the usual nightly noises. No angry yelling followed by a gunshot that echoed in silence, no sounds of gangs riling in the alleys, not even the lost echo of a car alarm reaching up to the top of the multi-story tower where the yellow hooded figure stood.

  Its form constantly moved about as if it couldn't quite settle, as irritable as a flag tossing in the winds it would share at such an altitude.

  Izime tugged at his hood, a bit frustrated with his time in Voltham already. It'd literally only been hours, not even a full day had passed and this whole trip was looking like bad luck waiting to happen.

  The original plan had forecast a slew of comparatively minor nefarious plots, a few random acts of moderate villainy.

  Something well within the realm of reason for the Dark Duo and something Izime had been looking forward to profiting from. It should have been easy pickings. A few nights of gathering leftover traps and devices crafted by some of the most capable and creative minds; not sound minds but hot damn were they capable and creative.

  Now was there an entire extra hero involved which was a problem Izime hadn't expected to wake. One to that started tipping the scales to a larger equation that involved multiple unpredictable variables, the one with the widest range of damage was the psychic.

  The match-up here was a potential disaster in the making, not just for Izime's wallet but for the people of Voltham as a whole.

  If it was just Steven and Stan getting the shit kicked out of them, whoop-di-doo. The psychic couldn't jump in or even get hit, as she was the riskiest element in this powder keg of villainy and heroism tonight. Her powers dwarfed those of all but the true titans such as Radiation Man, Void, and Atluer and it wasn't like any of those heavy hitters were here.

  The villains involved were actually comparatively minor but that made them more resourceful.

  The Quiz wasn't so bad even if every damned room had been trapped and rigged in a truly intricate problem to solve. Some of those devices had convenient components, others could and would be sold as is. Especially those multi-activation cable throwers that the Duo of Dinguses kept setting off.

  Izime was a bit disappointed in the simple single-track approach both the better-trained but less technologically gifted heroes were taking. The trick was knowing that the lasers they emitted were actually the third in a series of activators. Every time one of them spoke up or pointed them out it would trigger either the noise or motion sensors. The number of civilians tied up by them should have been a bit of a clue. Izime wasn't in the thick of it though, so he didn't want to judge too much.

  They could even be the more advanced version that detected radio signals, though such intricate traps would be blind firing with all the electronics going off in the building so Izime doubted it.

  The big problem on the side of 'evil' was FearForm, the toxin-using, exo-suit-wearing, mixed-class villain.

  The dude was already an imposing physical fighter for most basic-level heroes with that enhanced exoskeleton supporting his body. The big danger was his reliance on using and abusing the environment with that fear toxin. The exhaust pipes on the back could and certainly would gas out the area if the villain encountered the psychic her. As it would not only amp FearForm's physical abilities it also was a massive hazard for the thessian, a wonderful prize for Izime though.

  The sickly yellow substance sold like hotcakes though in either liquid or gas form. It was just the issue of safely handling and dismantling those devices.

  The dude was inoculated to his stash, so any devices FearForm designed were designed shoddily on purpose. The man simply didn't care how much toxin was wasted as long as the job was done at the end of the night. As such tampering with them was risky and even if it didn't affect Izime the same it did give him some nasty flashbacks.

  Those and the instant nausea that caused vomiting were bad when you were wearing a gas mask and something he'd rather avoid. All those problems were later issues and considerations about what, not who.

  That left the variable, the one he had to watch and was really worried about.

  The super-powered mind that might level a few Voltham blocks before her friends brought her down. Give Miss Psyis a solid dose of that toxin and everyone in Voltham would probably get rocked by the fallout. Either through mental influencing or as the alien simply lost her wits and battles a nightmare that didn't exist, either possible as her powers went rampant.

  God knows what the overpowered Thessian could conjurer up from her darkest depths, it wasn't a question Izime wanted answered.

  Kneeling a bit lower Izime tried to focus his vision better; the odd zoom he had gained since fully bonding with Cradle last year was a bit hard to manage with a simple human brain firing its random synapses, though it was trying its best.

  The thermal, magnetic, and night vision were all a simple on/off/ thought. Focusing was a bit more complex, and resolution resolving became a literal headache sometimes. The figure floating in her silver suit across the large Voltham block came in just fine while the odd blinky thing that was strapped on the ac-duct between them wasn't coming in any better at all.

  It was either the unit right in front of the one he wanted to look at or the whole roof behind. Infuriatingly unable to focus on the object he wanted to even after minutes of trying, even the AR interactive sliders weren't helping. Izime had given up on the mental dials he had been using a while ago in favor of physically moving his hands over invisible buttons and bars until his arms had tired.

  Cradle usually helped him manage some of these things, either supplying a video feed or adjusting Izime's human binocular vision on its own. Right now, however, the raven was inside the building on another run. There were some routes The Quiz had rigged that Dark Night hadn't taken and most likely wouldn't.

  Those rigged halls Cradle was going into and cleaning, gathering any traps and devices in a corner where Izime could quickly snap in and snatch them. Hopefully all in one breath... Izime didn't want to lose the little bit of canned beans he had eaten earlier; those were his last ones after all.

  Trying to focus once again, Izime changed his target. This time ignoring the thingy on the ac-duct and instead observing the only person who might compromise him at the moment. Now she was across from him, the two separated by the building that took up the corner of the block.

  That stupid purple alien from Centropolis had showed up earlier and as excited as Cradle was, Izime wasn't.

  The alien, hell any psychic was a massive threat to his existence. If anyone asked the right questions and found out his original purpose, well that was the reason for having rules. Izime had only a few rules in his line of work, the very thin ass line he walked reselling and reusing hero and villain stuff in his gray markets. One very big one was 'NO PSYCHICS.'

  None, nada, not a damned one, they could ruin his whole shtick and empty every storehouse he had made across the world let alone the things they might learn about him and his home reality.

  There were some other obvious ones like not taking the side of a hero or a villain as that would bring its own can of worms. Essentially the whole gig remained around not being a direct part of the whole hero-villain system here on Earth, he was just there for their stuff.

  The stuff however was starting to look like a complicated bit of operating to get into his baggy cargo pockets.

  Various simulations of the ways this might play out ran through Izime's mind even though he knew it was a bit too late to change plans now. Despite the fact there was that something, and that someone, on the outside of the building. Abandoning the haul was a hard loss to accept as both he and Cradle needed this run. They had just invested all their earth cash into Wesson's family and things were going to get rough if they didn't turn a profit on something quick.

  The two needed cash to at least get them through the new year unless they wanted to risk influencing the economy of the earth with laundered Sol credits.

  The game was set, the moves had been made, and the loot was now waiting. Izime had essentially pre-committed to making this final year-end run through Voltham profitable, backing them into this corner and Cradle was already inside at work and would be demanding its RAM regardless of any trouble.

  Izime kept his eyes on trouble, watching as she slowly lowered herself to the roof across the block. The purple glow emanated from her body ruffling her white hair against the breeze.

  "Just focus on the building and the people," Izime muttered to himself, while mentally speaking into the bonded connection with Cradle.

  Be quick we have company

  Purple. Yes Yes. Money Money

  12 Tricks. 25 More. Floor to floor.

  Izime nodded, the connection easily making sense of what Cradle was intending to translate in much more detail. The information it had collected on the alien nearly crowded Izime's vision until he mentally shoved the windows aside.

  The bigger interest was the small pile of 'tricks' Cradle had prepared for the two of them to steal from The Quiz. The intelligent villain had a knack for making some of the best non-lethal ensnaring devices the galaxy had ever seen, perfect for the odd many-limbed alien out drunk running on their bounty.

  "Money money," Izime whispered as he smiled a bit wider, one hand rubbing at his still empty pockets in excitement. The other still raised, poised for a snap and grab of their current haul in case things went badly.

  Finally closing the tabs Cradle had raised to review the alien's information, instead quietly observing her from the darkness. Feeling a bit tenser as he watched the woman's eyes widen, bright red moving about as she was still focused on the building and that blurry blinky duct was... was still... Izime swallowed dryly, where the fuck had a whole ass ac-duct just disappeared too?

  Pulse quickening Izime tried to keep his calm simply, so his eyes retained their focus. Knowing from previous experience nerves and emotional responses would only cause instability in his more advanced functions. Checking the areas of the stacked flat verticals on the apartment complex he could see, the edges of the stepped stories bare of any flashing lights.

  Eyes finally settling back on the psychic, Izime's nerves fraying just that bit further as he stared intently waiting to see what caused her worry. If he couldn't see anything, odds were, she would be finding out what that device was before he did.

  Izime stood and prepared to intervene his decision made without question. Simply not willing to risk the devices Cradle had gathered, the money the two needed, or the psychic harming the people in the city. Teal eyes widened in panic as his fears came to life before his eyes; a thick yellow plume exploded towards the heroine.

  With a snap he vanished no longer able to watch her red eyes go wide, the thessian already blued out in terror.

  On the Opposite Rooftop

  Psyis held her hands out unaware of her observer, focused on pouring more of her energy out. Carefully trying to manage all the different pieces of the puzzle she was currently juggling. Supporting not only the psychic shields that were keeping the entire skyscraper full of civilians calmly frozen in place.

  There was also an entire skyscraper full of fear toxin that had been released, her shields keeping the rough structure airtight as well. White cape fluttered as the wind and her powers both tried to rule its direction. Psyis took a deep breath, feeling the scales of her suit pull as her lungs filled.

  Tonight was just the start of what was looking to be a complicated game of cat and mouse, and more time dealing with Steven. The heroine much more content to focus on keeping the parts per million of fear toxin to a minimum instead of considering her previously toxic relationship.

  Both of them, Steven and herself had far bigger issues than the burnt bridge of intimacy between them.

  Fear Form and The Quiz had taken over a massive apartment complex, the multistory tower now turned into a terrifying madhouse of difficult-to-solve questions and civilians who had been driven into a terrified and terrifying frenzy.

  Dark Night and Dark Squire currently going through the trials The Quiz had laid out for them, testing their strength and guile; Psyis tried to check in on their progress.

  A small sliver of that energy broke away to trigger her communicator to voice her opinion as she contacted Dark Squire. "I'm keeping the crowd under control, but we need to find the source of Fear Forms psychosis gas quickly Squire. The pressure in the buildings going to build up eventually, and I'm a sitting duck out here."

  "Workss-ng ss-n it Psy." Dark Squire's voice came between mic cracks and radio static. The mind-reader unable to feel his thoughts but the off-handed tone he'd used cleary came through, Steven not wanting to bother rushing anything along.

  Psyis' eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make sense of why exactly Steven's communication was coming back broken instead of dealing with his attitude.

  There was no mention of her transmission being misheard or any signs that the other end had the same issue. An odd interference coming from the concrete? No that was a stupid idea, Psyis deduced the sounds of hissing weren't because of faulty tech or a disrupted connection. The building was quite likely being flooded still with the toxic fumes so that explained the hissing, but not those odd pops in the radio's speaker.

  What was causing the microsecond gaps where nothing was coming through at all?

  "I-We don't have time for this Dark Squire I'm pulling all the fu-" Psyis responded, trying to detail her plan until a snap from her earpiece told her that her line had just been over-ridden by the control channel.

  OK so the line she had with Dark Squires hadn't been private maybe that was it, if Dark Night had a bug on their line maybe it had been causing some sort of feedback of interference with the two's private radio channel.

  "Miss Psyis you can't control that much gas and the people at the same time." Another voice cut into the comm, his tone deeper and filled with an automated processed growl ad he ordered, "Focus on your job and save these civilians from FearForm, rushing things will play us right into The Quiz's plan."

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Psyis gave a half-lidded gaze towards the building where her senior league member had decided to chime in, Stan ' tone brooking no arguments.

  He was stepping in as Dark Night; it was his city and his mission after all. Though Psyis felt as if she was still being treated as a member of the Young League, not the woman he'd voted to join him. Sometimes wondering if she was just a pawn to use, keeping Steven's worse tendencies reigned in when Dark Squire operated alone.

  "Affirmative Dark Night." Psyis tried to calm down, the situation wasn't collapsing by any means so there wasn't any real reason to get drastic and flex her powers here in Voltham.

  There were just some odd things going on today. First was the odd sense earlier and now this oddity on Dark Night's premium tech. An unknown in her psychic senses might just be a personal hiccup, she was learning to use her Thessian powers alone after all. The oddity of a similar blip in Dark Nights tech on the same day?

  That couldn't be a coincidence. If it was it was just unsettling and Psyis had to admit, it had gotten to her. The heroine was unsure if she should admonish herself or trust that sense.

  Psyis glanced at the darkness around her, the starless smog that plagued Voltham giving no skyline to check the roof lines against. Her eyes moved instead to the few lit windows under them, checking for any odd movements.

  The sounds of Voltham filled the air, the same city with its gently steaming sewers as it ever was while her nerves tightened. The hiss of the sewers growing louder in her ears along with her own heartbeat. Her mind telling her it was all as it should be while her heart was screaming at her it wasn't so, it was too quiet, too still.

  Psyis' gut was telling her to pay more attention, to absolutely everything because there was something there.

  Instinct told her that thing was back, the blip from her imagination. It had slipped her grasp this evening and her soul told her it was here again, instincts flaring at the unknown in the blackness. The feeling that she had missed something earlier had never stopped for a second. Alien senses blazing, she had been missing it since entering Voltham tonight, but it certainly hadn't missed them, it hadn't missed her.

  Pieces to the puzzle started to click into place for her mind now, the blip in her powers, the radio...

  It all confirmed there was something else here in Voltham than her powers could feel if she learned how to, something new that existed in her psychic ecosystem. Even though she had no goosebumps, Psyis could feel her blue mottling spreading as it darkened her colors. Thessian biology reacted on instinct as it tried to hide, blending within the darkness to camouflage her from the predator unseen.

  Preparing another psychic sweep Psyis ran one hand through her hair making sure to keep the other up and focusing her powers on the building.

  What the hell could there even be in Voltham that could work her up, let alone scare her?

  A twisted clown?

  Please Laughing Man was lucky Dark Night had ordered she not just wipe that crooked brain clean.

  An over-sized wrestler?

  She was a psychic telepathic telekinetic who could go at least two rounds with the likes of Void let alone some synthroid addict.

  Quickly focusing her powers inward, Psyis decided to find the answer to her worries. Searching to see if she still had any part of her mental focus, that psychic energy occupied elsewhere. Praying there were still some reserves, the alien found herself disappointed.

  There weren't any, all of her powers were focused here.

  OK, fine.

  Psyis thought to herself, it would be a smaller sweep. The mental ping would be underpowered but still sweep most of the nearby city blocks. The little weakening in the building's air-tight shield wouldn't matter that much, a few parts per million were acceptable ranges of leaked fear toxin to be released in an already polluted city.

  With a simple pulse, she had the answer to her worries; there was nothing.

  Psyis sighed relaxing her hand and letting it fall by her side. Running her mind over the feelings her psychic echo had brought back. The familiar walls of cheap apartments, the forms of the people inside unaware. There was nothing out of place, everything was as it should be...

  Because she hadn't realized what to look for at first; red eyes going wide when she finally 'saw' it in her mind.

  Psyis had nearly let the whole thing go, instincts had nearly fallen to silent sleep until an ice-cold bucket of fear came washing over them. The thessian tensed again but now being very careful not to react too obviously as she repeated the same pulse.

  That mental echo returned the same form, now more defined while still just as confusing and obscured. There was a literal nothing, a void, a blank in her mental blueprint across the block from her on the roof. An oddly sifting but recognizable shape, bipedal and it was facing her with its being distorted and fogged behind bits of something else that clouded around it. Red eyes doubled their focus on the building in front of her as she realized it was facing her.

  If she was being watched just looking might give away and whoever it was seemed to be prepared for her powers. There was an uncomfortable mental silence coming from that area, no thoughts or emotions seeping out.

  The sensation unnerved the psychic even further, she'd thought she'd recognize it even if it was one of the odder aliens, a demon, hell even Void himself. She would at least recognize it, they all shared similar patterns. Wants, needs, and desires could be felt if not thoughts directly interpreted as none had ever utterly denied her powers. Even if it was one of her own specifically trained nemesis, Psyis knew she should at least be able to identify the methods of camouflage.

  This wasn't even an attempt, it was just a void that was taking her psychic powers and erasing them. It wasn't stealth, it was a flat rejection of sense that had only keyed her off because it was breaking the rules of what she knew. The form was an unknown that was almost naturally manipulating or avoiding her powers in ways she couldn't even begin to identify.

  "Shit." Psyis thought about about switching lines to contact Jenkins for an extra hand outside the building, but even then she might just be directly revealing that they were all compromised. Besides what was the butler going to do...

  Well he was ex-special forces, but that would still draw Dark Night's attention away from the actual civilians which might be exactly what that void wanted, Psyis intent on not falling into any traps like the two inside. No, it was better if she took matters into her own hands an-

  "Psyis we've got some movement here." Dark Squire's voice came back into her ear, apparently aware of something or at least curious as things had begun to change inside as well. "Everything clear outside?"

  "Sorry," Psyis replied on instinct, returning both her hands to their positions. Her power washed back over the skyscraper in full restoring the locking forces to the few civilians that had started to free themselves from her protective grasp.

  That nothing flickered out from under her mental detection as her attention was drawn away.

  "W-we're good," Psyis triggered her mic this time, trying to think of some way to inform the two without causing alarm. "It's a very clear night outside, there are still some things I can't see though."

  Hoping Steven might catch on to her tone after all the years they'd spent together but not very, and certain that Stan wouldn't make a move until he personally confirmed something. The thessian still felt like she was better off on her own than trusting any Caulder.

  Maybe she could still grab it right now and end this quickly!

  Psyis began to reach out, not with a sweep this time. Her hand physically made a grasping motion, the locking mental force she used slipping off that nothing like it was slicked with oil; a bit more power then?

  No that wouldn't help as it was gone now; maybe if she'd had still known its exact position then her snare wouldn't have slipped off it so uselessly but that stupid stealth cloud it had was keeping her from cleanly grabbing its core.

  "PSYIS!" Dark Night's voice came directly this time, the electronically altered rasp nearly peaking her earpiece as the growl came across full of emotion.

  Psyis immediately threw the issue of their watcher aside mind returned to the civilians that were beginning to escape her control.

  Preparing to redouble her efforts and avoid Dark Night's ire with an explanation. At least Psyis thought it had been Dark Night calling to reprimand her again. So when she returned her focus to the skyscraper wanting to redouble her efforts and instead saw a cloud of FearForm's toxin billowing out towards her Psyis panicked for a brief moment.

  Having missed whatever device had deployed the toxic fumes while her attention was on that void, distracted by their new company. Now unsure where her power would be best applied and in what order to attack this new issue. Was there a hole in the building all of a sudden or had some other catastrophe happened?

  Surely the Daring Duo hadn't triggered one of The Quiz's more intricate and much larger traps causing some kind of damage, Psyis was positive the almost ocd hero hadn't. That left an exterior trap, but Psyis had personally checked the surrounding buildings and they had been clear.

  Had been, just like she'd thought the rooftops nearby had been clear as well.

  "Don't breathe! They rigged a vent so it would blast you!" Dark Squires's voice came back over the comm giving obvious advice, finally seeming to give a damn even though he should have known by her tone that she felt uncomfortable.

  After all these years he should have been able to pick up on something about her, but he could even tell when she sounded worried. This turn of events only convinced Psyis she was better off handling things on her own all the more.

  Did that thing deploy FearForm's device?

  Psyis quickly sorted the information Steven had spilled in that message, her mind not feeling any of the emotional worry he was. Just a bit of raw panic as she'd been caught unaware, that and the unsettling fear from the void. Still, those were secondary concerns at the moment, feeling with her mind Psyis located the vent in question.

  Nearly midway up the building on an exterior platform designed for AC units, there was one directed towards her; a gray metal box blasted the stream of yellowish gaseous toxin in her direction.

  "I've got this, guys." Psyis turned one of her hands, the cloud being too large to bubble up at this point so her normal method would be useless.

  Instead, she waved her palm in a circle, forcing the air to whip itself into a current with psychokinesis. Driving the cloud into the upper atmosphere where it could begin to disperse harmlessly. Quickly reaching between the building's shield and keeping the current of air whippings upwards from Voltham's streets below.

  Gathering any bits that leaked while still holding the civilians inside safely, accomplishing what Dark Night had deemed impossible for her.

  Psyis smiled confidently though an uneasy breath did escape her. Knowing full well she had nearly been caught completely unaware, brows furrowing as she focused her attention on the device that had caused the spray. Her eyes widened a bit as she saw tendrils of toxin beginning to slip around her whirlwind.

  Maybe Dark Night had a bit of a point after all?

  Drawing an even larger base for the whirlwind with her hand before looking back to see if she had caught the excess flow, only to find that the leaking tendril of yellow had reached out further. The cloud to large to see around now she instead reached out and felt with her mind wanting to just crush the device. She could handle the cloud that poured out afterward and add it to the current street tornado, she needed to handle the actual thing producing the gas now though but the ac-duct was... gone?

  No, that nothing was blocking her from it on purpose, the void protecting that stupid box by standing between it and her!

  Psyis held a hand over her mouth as the toxin crept further and faster around the whirlwind, carried by natural air reacting to her own forced currents.

  Those reaching threads slowed until they began to get sucked back into the no longer growing vortex of toxin. A blue hand slowly falling away, Psyis realized the tendril had lost its strength, no longer having the supply to wash out of the mini tornado she'd made. Psyis wanted to grab it, reaching to make her move, but that nothing just literally vanished under her power's very gaze.

  Disappearing under her powers gaze and grasp as if it'd never existed or as if she'd tried to snag FazzPazz. The AC duct physically missing this time, that hand faltering under the weight of worry, questions, and very few answers.

  That would explain why the toxin had begun to draw back instead of flood around her containment but why had it... no it hadn't... It was just a coincidence that without the main supply, nothing remained to saturate the surrounding air to put her in danger.

  Finally visually glancing at the trapped building where it had last been, the obvious signs of the duct being forcefully removed were clear from the sparking wires and still dripping evaporation lines. Still, why had it taken the trap, hadn't it been the one to deploy it in the first place?

  Did it really just want it back, snatching it halfway through what might have been a successful attack?

  "Just in time Miss Psyis." Dark Night's voice came back through the comm, the slight pause between making the compliment more pointed, "Glad to see you still have things under control"

  "Let's get this pop quiz finished you two," Psyis ignored to back-handed mention of her earlier lack of attention, instead urging to two onward as she finally delivered the news into her comm. "We are not alone and it's an unknown. Complete ghost."

  Not quite willing to admit that her once purple, now probably blue butt might have just been pulled from the frying pan. FearForm's multiple attacks had just stressed the upper limits of her abilities between shielding and manipulating the air to avoid that attack. Psyis instead requested the two finish, directly informing them of their unexpected company.

  Hoping the lack of details convinced them both to start moving a bit quicker as it wasn't just a simple request anymore it was a hard fact; they weren't alone.

  "Repeat last," Dark Nights growl came back just as tense as she felt. Psyis wondered if it was that odd interference returning on their end now or if Dark Night doubted her as he tried to clarify. "Confirm, we have a hostile?"

  "I only displaced that gas," Psyis was torn between wanting some extra eyes and the civilians actually in danger, giving the it a bit more grace than she'd have liked with her next words. "The device that caused it is gone and there was a..thing..watching me earlier."

  "If you're under att-" Steven's worried voice came through as if he had forgotten Psyis was holding a conversation with the two right at this moment and hadn't cleared the line. The click as her communicator was overridden telling Psyis exactly where she stood, somewhere under the two who'd asked for help. Psyis rolled her eyes as her earpiece clicked again, Dark Night giving her the right over Squire now as well.

  "No Squire. Like I was saying, it only watched..and I think it took FearForm's trap. Civilians should remain our priority, they're the mission." The alien kept a distance from the human's tone, replying with a no-nonsense tone. Quickly adding a bit though, the later part came out as a bit of a question towards her superior, "May have just been an underling, some new goon trying to recover an experimental device?"

  Psyis didn't even believe her own words. That void hadn't been anything close to a goon or any other creature she'd even encountered on earth in her entire lifetime spent on the large wet rock. Not at all surprised when Dark Night's voice came back, already speaking sense though it was without the same unnerving details she'd felt.

  "Those gas units are pretty common. A bit higher flow and much more compact but FearForm's got thousands of them. Stay. Sharp." Dark Nights offered his view on Psyis' thoughts, before giving her some advice that was only far too obvious. "Keep your senses sweeping, use your mental powers to find the target."

  "I am OK," Psyis replied, a bit tensely to her senior member who was still treating her like a teen hero learning the ropes. Psyis Detailing what she had learned so far hoping Dark Night would be a bit more helpful finding a solution with more information. "This thing is hard for me to find its absorbing my powers or something. I only sensed it because I realized there was a gap in my sense, it's burning a hole in my detection ability."

  "You didn't see it take the trap?" Dark Squire asked, not aware of just how far Psyis had nearly had the situation slip out of control from the inside. Never even being aware of the massive funnel of fear toxin that had been sent towards the sky.

  Psyis tried to think of something to say, certainly not about to tell Steven what she hadn't even allowed herself to think; that the thing had saved her of all things.

  "No, I think it's gone though and so is that trap." Psyis shook her head at the unhelpful addition as she gave another shot at sweeping the far rooftop. Finding nothing out of place on any of the surrounding buildings, no reason to sweep a building she was currently shielding she continued to press for a quick resolution. "Let's save the night and wrap this up, guys."

  "We may have a new friend," Dark Night growled a dire warning, quickly making a few decisions to ensure optimal security. "Or something worse. We'll meet debrief tonight, Miss Psyis you stay with us if we're being tracked."

  "Friends say hi," Psyis agreed with the warning relaying the results of her psychic touch, a bit regretful she'd be stuck with Steven. Though she was certainly appreciative of having a secure location to base away from whatever that thing was. "I couldn't even get a thought out of that thing so it's definitely not a human or maybe not even organic?"

  "You're not good against a physical opponent," Dark Squire's tense voice came back over the comm once again, the Young League member interrupting his two senior heroes once more, "do you need backup?

  "She's fine Squire and like Miss Psyis said, we have civilians that need us here. She knows how to sense it now so try trusting her this time." Dark Night reigned in his sidekick's overprotective nature with a pointed reminder of his past failures in dealing with the woman. Now stepping in to address Psyis try and advise the fellow league member on alternative methods, and how she might fight. "If you can't fight it directly use your surroundings, a telekineticly thrown brick isn't a psychic attack it is a brick."

  "Affirmative, throw rocks."Psyis didn't want to point out that her method was only useful in finding it quickly after comparing two pulses in quick succession. Let alone how idiotic it sounded to resort to throwing stones as powerful as she was, she could easily and quickly create an entire boulder to hurl at someone let alone grab a brick.

  The problem was the time between her mental blips would easily let it escape just like it had now, let alone aim to do damage. Psyis sighed audibly as she felt nothing but a lack of control, she needed these two to hurry so she could quickly use her full powers to sweep all of Voltham for her new 'friend'.

  Time however would pass slowly, and furiously against her, hours passed as wires were cut defusing the bombs. Questions found their answers which slowly turned down the amount of toxin being released.

  The drain on Psyis powers slacking enough that she finally dared to reach out and check the state of the buildings around her. It was exactly how it should have been any other day of the week, but she had the odd feeling she was missing something again. The roofs of the buildings were all coming in crystal clear. No blanks, gaps, or holes that might indicate that the thing was actively moving.

  Instincts still itching and now more willing to listen Psyis quickly flipped her ping to a skyward radar sweep, swallowing as she found a... cloud?

  No. She pinged again, the form quickly seemed to have re-condensing into a mass that wasn't exactly solid just a void.

  It was the same hole or another one of the same creatures just a different shape. The thing mimicked a bird now before clouding once again vanishing so fast it was as if it had found a gap between her thoughts. Form and feeling disappearing like a dream that couldn't be kept upon waking, she'd known she'd seen it, had it, but it was gone now all the same.

  Swallowing she risked a glance, looking through the clouds expecting to see something but finding only black, not even stars. The light pollution and smog of the Neon City of Voltham was too thick to allow the night sky to shine on its dark nature.

  The night dragged on until the sun was starting to poke over the horizon, the final police car pulling away and the last ambulance leaving for Voltham General Hospital.

  Normally the noted Miss Psyis would have joined the Daring Duo in relaying the happenings of tonight's incident to Commissioner Greg. Instead, the alien was sweeping the entire city, the skies above, and even the areas below. Finally coming up with a plan or at least a concept of what this thing might be able to do.

  Returning to Caulder Manor to discuss their options and rest for the morning in her own provided room in an empty wing. Glad to have made progress in not only tracking that void but also in avoiding any chance of Steven dragging her into an argument or reliving their past on some stupid regretful night together.

  Give a like, drop a comment, sling some venomous reviews or post potatoes. It's all motivation