Below Blane Manor that Evening

It had been a few hours since Psyis had returned from her self-designated tracking mission. Returning through the balcony as usual she'd gone debrief quickly before finding a quiet room down a wing far away from Steven's bedroom.

Finally coming down into the Dark Cavern after taking a those few hours of rest topside in the Blane Manor proper. Her red eyes roaming over the complex installation that facilitated the switch between Dark Night and Stan Blane. At least the outward switch that was, neither of the two men Stan or Steven ever seemed to turn off their hero mentalities.

Bright spotlights casting deep shadows along the upper walls as they spread into an area wide glow below her. Metal walkways, multiple parked vehicles ranging from a flying assault vehicle to the rolling tank that was the Dark Mobile.

There along the far wall were rows of brightly lit suits of alternative designs, some more up armored or designed for alternative environments. On the center platform lit brightly among the deeply contrasting shadows, observing the three massive viewing screens was the man she needed to talk to: Stan Blane.

Rather it was Dark Night as that was how the man refereed to himself in his own mind. Though now out of the cowl and a bit more relaxed in a simple button-up shirt and suit pants. Focused on various angles of camera feeds, sensor readouts, and a soup luncheon Jenkins had delivered at some point earlier.

The man never shut off, not when he ate or even slept. Now with this newest issue to sink his teeth into the man had stayed up for hours chewing through any scrap of information he could find.

That driven mentality carrying over to quickly was probably where Steven got his big head and attitude, Psyis rolled her eyes as the lift finally reached the bottom. Steven taking that same approach of never letting this rest until he was satisfied, they were solved, wanting that perfect solution to all his problems, a solution to her. Dropping her ire as the silent movement of the lift she was standing on stopped at the bottom level.

The silent ride contrasting sharply with the hard mechanical 'shunk' that came as it stopped at the bottom level locking into place.

"Let's go over the description again." Stan Blane didn't bother turning around, he wouldn't be Dark Night if he didn't already know who was coming down into the Dark Cavern.

"Humanoid, definitely humanoid." Psyis walked over quickly, the slight snap of her furled cape contrasting with the hum of cooling fans and the chit-scratch of massive rows of hard discs and dials at work. Back-ups and semi-mechanical computing for issues that would make a higher end physical chip die from heat alone.

"I'm tracking an after image," Glancing at the several tall tower racks idly Psyis tried to think of a way to describe the issue she was having with following Stan Blane's directions, "I'm trying to be the entire sonar crew on a submarine. The lag between processing and prediction is too long, that or the thing is fast like FazzPazz fast."

"FazzPazz levels of speed and psychic immunity is something we'd have heard of sooner unless this thing's decided to make a show for its first appearance." Stan shook his head as he weighed the options the psychic's words had brought to mind, a top tier super with mental defense like that would have been known.

Sitting forward and sitting the bowl of soup down Stan clicked a few buttons bringing up some windows supplying some evidence of his own. "That implies confidence, strength which isn't something I'm seeing, take a look at this."

A very poor-quality video of a man walking out of an alley came up before the feed cut to full static. The feed cut to another alley, Psyis realized Dark Night had taken the points of reference she had located last night and watched them for hours. Yea this was where Steven had gotten that dedication. A great trait for a sleuth of a hero but as a partner in life, not so much.

Still the actual feed wasn't telling her much considering how little the man's appearance seemed to change in those tiny half-seconds.

Though Dark Night probably saw things much differently, comparing any minor detail and forming his own conclusions. If Stan had actually gained much from some black and white static of a man in a long coat it was impressive. Psyis couldn't really see any real identifiable features visible under the electronic snow. The only similarity between the various feeds was this man and the cameras reactions... they all faded out within a few frames.

"They all cut within a second." Stan leaned back in the chair, the squeak it let out was new. He had lost his patience earlier upon this discover and its even worse counterpart in his own monitoring network. "Every camera has the exact same issue which resolves as soon as it is outside of sight."

"What about your city wide moni-" Psyis began to ask, Stan gripping the chair in his own frustration as he cut her off with an angry response.

"Worse, less than this. It's a ghost on everything even thermal imaging from satellite." Stans knuckles popped, Psyis bringing up the issue that had nearly cost him a chair. Standing he moved the mouse, clicking a few different icons before picking up a small tablet that would make the presentation much easier. Using the touchscreen controls to drag two videos up to compare, Stan overlaid two videos.

One being a repeating scene where the 'man' was leaving an alley, the other a very zoomed in thermal image from orbit. The man was clearly visible in the Voltham's more 'public' camera network, public being the private owners and street cameras Stan had hacked. The multi trillion-dollar satellite he had in space showed jack, not even a shadow of a man.

"So, we need to work on your method." Stan turned his square jaw towards Psyis, giving an upward tilt of his head, "You said you use a ping? Could you use that ping to lock on, like a form of active tracking radar? We need eyes on this thing."

Stan leaned against the console hoping the Thessian had more options besides shaking her head no, this creature had decided to step into Voltham. Had already been in Voltham for years and that was Dark Nights turf, this would come to an end quickly as far as he was concerned.

Just as long as the two younger members of the League played their cards accordingly, then they could figure out the hows and the whys.

How it was moving, why was it here, those two would let them corner it and find the answers to what. What it was doing and just what this thing was, if it posed a risk Dark Night was already prepared to bring in more help. If it was attracted to action Stan would bring all the action it could handle.

"Radar still uses a signature, a signal. I don't have that; I'm chasing an afterimage where my powers are burnt out. It's a game where its constantly one step ahead." Psyis shook her head, already imagining the many ways she could lose any psychic lock on its area.

The only solution she had so far was a higher power ping, Psyis reminding Stan he'd shot that down. "I'm looking for the hole and depending on the range it'd be like chasing a burnt-out pixel on one of your monitors here. The only way to up that resolution is more power which you've been saying no to that so far."

Psyis crossed her arms at that, sure this was Voltham not Centropolis. It wasn't her town to start pulling big moves in but Stan's choice in denying her full powered scan was irritating to say the least. If he'd been worried about her causing an issue with this new creature fine, but she knew he was more worried about the possible damages she'd cause.

Just another way Dark Night doubted her yet again, Psyis wondering why he'd even voted her into the League of Saviors proper if he was only going to doubt her constantly. She could handle her powers and if nothing else she'd just release the pulse at a higher altitude.

"I tried to do a bit of tracking as well." Stan pressed another button trying to distract the growing frustrations of Miss Psyis, this time thousands of camera feeds from all over the world popping up with that same snowy static before fading to black.

Hoping he could bring out the same predator mentality she'd need to share with him to track this thing down. "Russia, China, Brazil, that's a feed from a research station in Antarctica, that's Atlantis, I don't think the Amazonian's use CCTV but I'm willing to bet my business empire it's been there too."

"The largest number of blackouts and the longest blackouts on feeds happen in one area." Stan felt a bit of his Dark Night persona take the lead as he prepared the big reveal, the various cities disappearing as one massive map took the screen. "For the last three months it's been in Centropolis."

Psyis heard her knuckles popping knowing full well what Dark Night was implying, taking a shakey breath she tried to confirm. Asking directly just to hear the detective hero say it. "It's following me?"

Her red eyes glancing at all the areas that blotted her home city, the others had a few hot spots but her hometown? It was marred, black scars showing the streets this thing had been stalking while right under her nose.

Psyis didn't bother looking down to know her pattern was going a bit wild at the moment. Anger and a tinge of fear buried under her frustration at the inability to even realize it had been right beside her the entire time even now here in Voltham. No wonder Dark Night was treating her like a helper again!

"Not necessarily but the fact it seems to base itself in Centropolis is something we need to consider." Stan didn't want the Psychic trigger happy; he wanted her on edge. Now trying to pull her back a bit worried that he might have pushed a bit far by giving her this information, explaining his alternative idea. "I don't believe in coincidence but there's no real evidence to support you having a tail. Here's another overlay."

Several maps were brought up, the cities marked with their adjacent heroes along with coinciding villains. Middle City and FazzPazz with Thorn, Dark Night and The Quiz here in Voltham even the warry Vietnam war vet Vengeance in N.Y.C. with Street King. All the way to the Magician Magnifique fighting the Tao of Fallen Mystique in Tibet.

"This is a record of most of the big battles between League members and our villains." Pointing at each of the maps as they ran back through the list again, Stan pointed out all to odd little coincidences he had noticed. "These blackouts start happening on average either right before or right after a big bust."

The implications Dark Night was actual considering were not good. Something was here and it was studying every single super-hero on their little blue rock. The League had already dealt with several villains and creations that could copy just their powers, one that could or was developing counters for every hero across the globe.

Honestly, he'd never considered the idea just because of the sheer logistics but now? It was something he was reconsidering entirely as obviously this thing had slipped past all of them, until last night.

"FearForm and The Quiz." Psyis' head instantly snapped toward Dark Night, drawing similar conclusions as the heroic detective. The more likely reason this thing was here now, instead of following her.

Though Stan did still want the Centropolis based hero to very much consider this thing as a more personal threat, the odds were it was studying them for some reason.

There could be multiple this unknown had chosen Centropolis to base itself, it had once housed a Zexxian. Now it was home to another alien the Thessian in front of him, perhaps there was another similarity to this new Centropolis resident? Either way it was here for something, and Stan partially blamed himself for bringing it.

"Both foes Squire and I are capable of handling, we just can't provide the safety we need to for civilians, so we called you. I was building our forces without knowing there was a correlation between this thing and a gathering of heroes." Stan nodded now detailing the finer points of his hypothesis, before finishing addressing the newest addition to the room. "My decision may have been what drew our friend in, I made another hot spot of activity. We're aware now and it can't track all of us, so I'll monitor while you two patrol."

Psyis turned to see Dark Squire walking up, well he called himself Steven Blane until that mask was pulled on completely. But it was always the same Dark Squire that had burned her, wasting a touch of youth on an over angry young man.

Nodding politely at the man who'd thrown away her innocence to try for a chance to blame her for his well of problems. A dark place Psyis had struggled to escape once she'd realized there was never going to be a real Steven just an alter-ego for Dark Night.

A familiar cocky grin reflecting a confidence she wasn't really feeling as Steven having never felt the entity they were discussing. It was alien even to her own alien. Dark Squire was already full of energy and expectations for a fight, Psyis a bit worried about how their patrol tonight might go if he decided to jump in senselessly.

There were already two villains at play with an unknown, she didn't need the junior-league member trying to pull some stunt or causing a scene bringing that thing back in.

"I've told this to Steven but I'm telling you now. Stay alert and if comes you may want to start thinking like you just landed again." Stan crossed his arms the threads in his button up shirt stretching as he postured unintentionally.

Looking at Psyis at first before warning Steven directly not to overstep. "If it's here because of the activity it's going to be drawn in tonight for sure. On who's side we don't know yet and we don't want to make that decision for it. The thing didn't help or hurt us, so it may be trying to figure us out at the same time."

"An alien?" Psyis raised her brows a bit as Dark Night directly implied that it was studying them as well. A stage she had gone through as an actual Thessian, the young psychic alien having taken many years to simply acclimate to the chaotic human world. though she quickly accepted humanity as her own.

Choosing quickly to use her own unique Thessian powers to save the earthlings that she had studied and thus been raised from. Psyis not quite convinced, but then again, she'd hadn't met every alien out there. She wasn't willing to completely ignore Stan's advice either, it was certainly strange, so alien suited it.

For all she knew maybe there was a species that was immune to psychic powers, amorphous, and absurdly fast.

"Possibly, you're the one who identified it as non-human so I'm going off of your information." Stan committed only as far as his fellow League member was, detailing further on their limits, "Whatever it is, its curios and capable enough to move around without being detected by technological means or psychic. We need to handle this without bringing in more activity because that could be just what it wants."

"If it shows up, we can handle it." Steven flexed a bit, trying to get his suit just right the Kevlar and alloy inserts sliding a bit as he pulled at the joints. His eyes glancing towards what looked like a beggar, the thing they were supposed to be wary of, "it doesn't look like all that much."

Giving a sideways glance at the woman who was his partner tonight once more, admiring the way the silver scales on her suit clung to her form in profile. Steven felt a bit of a smirk cross his face knowing just how soft the striped skin under that armor was before returning his mind to safer thoughts considering the psychic he was thinking fondly of.

Psyis was still being sullen and upset that he wasn't some perky little goody-two-shoes like Radiation Lad. That was her problem, one she'd need to solve once she started missing that little bond thing she'd whined about.

Steven's eyes turning back to himself, focused more on his suit now. The bonded armor feeling a bit tight, the odd tug during a flip or roll could be just the thing to ruin a dodge and leave him taking a hit. Pulling and stretching a bit to get his blood moving and adjust the armor around the other parts of his body he pulled his thoughts away from from his partner as well.

Forming a few plans for what he might do if the thing really was something unexpected as opposed to what might happen after. How each gadget might be the thing needed to save the day for everyone. Different gases, crystals, and devices designed to bring down some of the toughest creatures Voltham had ever seen.

Steven stopped warming up both his body and imagination giving Stan a nod, hoping his smirk didn't seem too cocky. Considering it was the old man who'd had trained him though Steven was confident in the abilities he'd been given.

Stan already sensing the eagerness in the Young League member, glancing at the psychic who had once helped blunt that fast temper. A bit worried about putting the two into a possible unknown situation, "I'm not looking for a confrontation. We are not looking for a fight."

Turning Stan decided to do the same thing he'd done for Psyis earlier. Bringing up an information dump that would hopefully get the young hero back into a problem solving mindset and not a problem starting one. Knowing that the information he was about to display was important to not only redirect that energy but to stop the actual villainy afoot. The thing that Psyis had spotted was worry some but not a direct threat, not like the images he was about to display.

"We don't have that option anyway so don't go looking for one." Stan gave Steven a hard look before pressing a button, a feed from one of the local water processing plants was displayed.

Stan once again glancing at Psyis, who was the lead for tonight's patrol, handing the stage over to his protege who needed the help. "FearForm and The Quiz decided to move on with stage two of their little plot. If they couldn't make a madhouse out of that apartment complex the only obvious answer for these two? Go bigger, Steven."

"That facility provides all of the eastern districts with water." Steven stopped his posturing, quickly recognizing the important piece of infrastructure. A bit unconcerned about the it now as what the villains were attempting was a truly dire matter, "These freaks are insane that's hundreds of thousands of people at risk. It's me and you tonight Psyis, in a few hours they plan to provide the eastern district with liquid fear, we're going to stop that from happening."

Dark Night uncrossed his arms, flexing his corded muscles in preparation until his knuckles popped. Giving the most senior Young League member and newest junior to the actual League a stern look, "Not to go looking for fights. If things get active..."

"That's when Dark Night shows up and we try and box this thing in." Psyis nodded understanding that Stan wanted her to take the reigns on this mission though she now felt a bit stepped over. Steven taking the briefing by the book somewhat but now Psyis felt like those reigns were on a runaway horse. Steven seemed a bit caught up in the moment, and his mind had been everywhere but on the water plant during his little pep-talk.

If was about keeping the activity down so they could accomplish their task and not have to worry about the unknown factor at all she could handle it. Giving Steven that moment was probably a bad idea on Stan's part.

Psyis giving a look at her partner for the night, firmly placing herself in the leader roll mentally and not as Stevens emotional babysitter. She had given up on spending her personal time reigning in Steven's violent attitude and domineering nature, but as a coworker days like this happened.

It was her job as the senior member and leader of the Young League, and it would help solidify her spot on the League in full as its junior most member. Keeping it professional was all she needed to do and not get dragged into some personal debate or rehashing of history. Task oriented and unavailable aside from smacking Steven if he got out of line.

After having his little moment handed to him by Stan, he likely was...

Task oriented and focused.

Psyis repeated the words to herself as Steven prepared the modified dragster Dark-Bike for the night.

The multiple layers of armored windscreens wrapping around the front of the very futuristic looking modified racing bike. Its extended rear wheel spinning with a bit of smoke as Steven revved the motor which seemed to have no red line, only a louder scream. The psychic wrapping herself in a bubble of her own energy so she could go soaring out of the caverns hidden entrance. The throaty roar of the bikes heavily modified engine rattling both her thoughts and the cave around them.

Psyis slowing down a bit as Steven raced by her doing a wheelie, disappearing off into the night along the well-hidden road. Smiling a bit nostalgically as she recalled how attractive she had once found that absurdly misplaced energy. Only lifting the lid on what she had thought was an excitement for life to find a bubbling anger and resentment just waiting to boil over. Either taking to much after Stan or an unfortunate side effect of being taken in to late.

It was sadly comforting to see her friend acting the same as ever, though because of that they'd never change into anything more. That contrast between what he presented and who he was had soured their relationship to its eventual end and it was over now.

Placing those thoughts in the back of her mind she flew along, following well above Dark Squire high in the sky. Looking down to see the dim glow of the bikes headlight making its cornering course along the outskirts towards the water processing plant.