The Moment Things Began to Change

An odd silence stretched out across a few Voltham blocks, absent from the usual nightly noise. 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 reached up to the top of the multi-story tower where the yellow hooded figure stood. Its form constantly moving 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 and it'd literally only been hours. Not even a full day passing 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.

A few nights of gathering left over traps and devices crafted by some of the most capable and creative minds. Not sound minds but hot damn were they capable and creative. It should have been easy picking, now was there an entire extra hero involved. That started tipping the scales to a larger plot that involved multiple unpredictable elements, one of which it was now a psychic. The match-up here was a potential disaster in the making, not just for Izime's wallet but 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 get involved, 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, VoidSide, and Vhainos.

It wasn't like any of those heavy hitters were here. 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 very handy components, other could and would be sold as is. Especially those multi-activation cable throwers that the Duo of Dinguses kept setting off. Izime a bit disappointed in the simple single-track approach both of the two better trained but let 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 to 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 was FearForm, the toxin using exo-suit wearing mixed class villain. Dude was already an imposing physical fighter for most basic level heroes with that enhanced exo-skeleton 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 own 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 basically inoculated to his own 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 really affect Izime the same it did give him some nasty flashbacks. Those and the instant nausea that caused vomiting was bad when you were wearing a gas mask, and something he'd rather avoid.

Those problems were later issues and considerations about whats, not a who. The who he was really worried about was 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 than 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 a 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. The thermal, magnetic, and night vision were all a simple on/off/ thought. Focusing was a bit more complex, resolution resolving a literal headache sometimes.

The figure floating in her silver suit across the large Voltham block came in just fine. The odd blink-y 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. Even the AR interactive sliders weren't helping.

Izime having 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. 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.

Izime tried to focus once again, this time ignoring the thingy on the ac-duct and instead observing the only person who might compromise him at the moment. That stupid purple alien from Centropolis had showed up earlier and as excited as Cradle was, Izime wasn't. Now she was across from him, the two separated by the building that took up the corner of the block.

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 stuffs in his personal gray markets. One very big one was 'NO PSYCHICS.'

None, nada, not a damned one, they could ruin his whole shtick and empty every store house 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, various simulations on the ways this might play our running through Izime's mind. It was a bit to late to change plans now even if there was something and a 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 otherwise. The two needed cash to at least get them through the new year, unless they wanted to risk influencing the earths economy with laundered Sol credits.

The game was set, the moves had been made, and the loot was now waiting. Izime having essentially pre-committed to making this finaly year end run through Voltham profitable, backing them into this corner. 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 glow emanating from her body ruffling her white hair against the breeze.

"Just focus on the building and the people." Izime muttered 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. Information it had collected on the alien nearly crowding 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. Red eyes moving about as she was till 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 expierience nerves and emotional responses would only cause instability in the more advanced functions. Checking the areas of the stacked flat verticals on 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.

If he couldn't see anything odds, where she would be finding out what that device was before he did. Izime standing and preparing 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. His fears coming to life before his eyes as a thick yellow plume exploded towards her, red eyes going wide as the Thessian blued out in terror.