Simulations and Drinks Don't Mix

Pulling the much more civilian sports bike into the same parking garage that she'd used to travel to mercury. Psyis let the throttle whine down before dropping a gear. The higher pitched growl of the motor barking out a few times as the chain on the bikes drive whined down.

It had taken a bit longer seeing as she wasn't going to bother staying at the Blane's anymore Psyis had to return to her apartment in Centropolis.

Psyis rounded the opening of the garage making her way down the street while she considered her change in mood since that horrible night.

Despite the distance or maybe in spite of it the ride here had cleared her mind maybe it was just the difference between riding on a bike instead of flying. Returning to a bit of that life outside of being Miss Psyis and taking off the cape like Constantinople had said, or perhaps that moment of clarity in Izime's mind.

Whatever it was Psyis felt like she was free, really free. 

Steven hadn't crossed her mind in since his terrible joke about Izime dying in Savior Orbital. Psyis deciding then and there she'd never look back at the sidekick. 

What was even better was Stan's threats to her position in the league had faded to nothing but background noise with Radiation Man taking her side one the issue of Izime.

That had given her the freedom to drop the entire thing between her and the Blane's all at once, though she'd still needed to return to Voltham. Constantinople had told her to meet him at Lucky Dog's if she was serious about 'removing her head from her arse' as he'd so bluntly put it.

Psyis looked up as she neared the club, noticing the single neon sign still flashing, shielding her ears as she once again dived into the pounding bass of Lucky Dogs.

"Constantinople's inside." The thessian wondering if the club ever closed as she handed Jessie her I.D. the redheaded woman informing her, she'd been expected. Psyis making her way inside, looking at the same graffitied hall that she'd followed Izime down a few days before.

Looking down from the balcony to find the club still decently packed even during this odd time of day. Though that shouldn't be surprising considering their clientele ranged a wide variety of species. Not like the sun even reached the Voltham under-belly, so why would time ever matter below the eternal twilight of those highways.

Red eyes sweeping the slew of tables that sat a ways away from the active dance floor. Both eyes and powers sweeping over the patrons seated at them until she located the familiar tan trench-coat and blonde hair.

The hand waving towards her indicating the exorcist had located her first.

Constantinople ran his eyes over the member of League Savior that was joining him, magically altered vision locating multiple oddly placed electronic devices along her paneled biker's jacket. Another in her pants pocket as well as one along her knee in the seam.

Filling his mind with thoughts of Izime and drink options instead of feeling any sort of way about what was about to happen to the Thessian's cellphone.

Constantinople motioned while he waited for the psychic to sit watching for her to touch the table; only then would he trigger the spell he'd prepared beforehand. Watching as the glimmer of light circled around the table and entered that mottled palm Constantinople finally sat back and relaxed, more willing to speak.

"Wh-!" Psyis felt her hand lock down, a small influx of power running through her body. The Sumsang phone in her pants giving a harsh worrying vibration. "What the hell was that Constantinople?"

"A spell obviously, it should fry any of Dark Night's toys he's place on you. I'd apologize about the celly, but then again there's the whole reason your here." Constantinople finally leaned forward, snarking a bit wanting to make sure Psyis knew she wasn't exactly in a position to complain.

"Now explain." Constantinople demanded answers watching as Psyis finally managed to pull her bluing hand away, the spell completely disabling Blane's tiny spies.

"Explain what?" Psyis asked dumbly as she pulled out her cellphone, quickly clicking the lock button several times and watching as the screen refused to light. Looking up at Constantinople wondering if she'd been had, conned by the notorious magician into showing up all for nothing.

"Everything you didn't to the League lass." Constantinople leaned forward leaning his elbows on the table conspiratorially, motioning for the psychic to spill the beans on all she'd learned.

The exorcist hoping that the alien would have at least learned something from all she'd done so far; her actions not disappointing him yet.

"I thought you said we could help Izime?" Psyis asked with a bit of worry as she heard Constantinople's tone. Shoving her phone back into her jacket pocket, the heroine not sure if the anti-hero across from her understood how difficult it would be to replace the device.

It wasn't like she was running schemes to provide for herself and every penny she spent was monitored by the same government that provided it.Replacing a few cars because a fight had gotten out of hand was fine.

The government love to harass the insurance companies on the behalf of the people.

Explaining to her agent that she needed a new phone was much harder.

Because why couldn't a heroine protect their own stuff?

"We can but I still want to know everything the League does about my friend," Constantinople leaned back pulling his last shot from the table and slamming it back before accusing Psyis, "you're the psychic that crawled around and decided to play with his forbidden knowledge so spill it, or else were not doing a bloody thing."

The exorcist smiling when the little miss hero that seemed to have caught Izime's eye finally started acting like she deserved someone of his caliber.

If Izime was going to have anyone in this world they'd need to be able to hold themselves to the same strict code that his friend did. Something that Psyis seemed to be adapting to and accepting now as well. The Thessian standing and tossing her now ruined phone on the table accusingly as she prepared to leave.

"I didn't tell them anything about that and I won't tell you either, apart from to leave it alone." Psyis left the ruined phone behind. Hoping she could just claim it'd been stolen but the con and leave it to the League to replace.Pushing back her chair as her shoulders dropped in disappointment, this had been her chance or so she'd thought.

Psyis cursing at the con that'd tricked her into driving a thousand miles for nothing, "Damn it Constantinople I thought you wanted to help Izi-"

"Sit your arse back down lass." Constantinople slid one of his shots across the table, watching as a bit of the alcohol spilled. Directing the psychic to take her seat once more, finally revealing his pleasure in her defense of Izime's mind, "It was a test, one you passed; that's the first sensible thing you've done."

"I..." Psyis sat down not wanting to argue seeing as she could already hear every single point Constantinople would make.

Ones she'd already had chasing her from Centropolis. That freedom she'd felt during her drive disappearing as the reality of why she'd been put in this position returned to the for front of her mind.

"Ye what? You're sorry wish ye'd had a clue as to what was really going on? Shite, me too." Constantinople gestured towards the shot on the table as he reflected on his own choices.The exorcist so upset he actually stood and took the shot back, downing it before continuing to wallow in his guilt.

Coughing away the liquor Constantinople continued to express his regrets, "Should have never bothered the wanker. I could have said no and avoided the whole thing in the first place, should have. Dark Night, a psychic, and a friend who'd never wanted to be on our side of the business in the first place."

"I'm the one who thought Izzy was the hero and wanted him to meet some more, mingle with the lot of us and make some connections here." Constantinople didn't notice the worried look from the heroine across from him as he continued in his depressed tone, "Throw a few back, maybe then the chap'd breathe a bit easier and finally call this stupid rock home."

"It's not though." Psyis quickly interjected, not wanting this to turn into a living wake. Constantinople both looking and talking as if he was ready to jump into the bottle instead of explaining how they'd solve this situation.

"We know that now, but it was pretty damned obvious before ya bloody rube. Doesn't matter though because you're still not following me." The exorcist furrowed his brow as the alien spoke over their server. Constantinople simply waving towards the empty shot glass as in explanation as he asked for a fresh round, "Give us a refill lad?"

"I already knew Izime wasn't built proper; I will not say my mates not a human, but I knew he wasn't just one well before you decided to dive into his skull. Bloke's patchwork soul was only a part of it." Constantinople stuck to the real issue now, discussing how he'd already been well aware of Izime's issues.

Maybe not in great detail but the exorcist had already drawn the connections between the not a human Izime and the woman across from him, "he reminded me of you with the whole still learning to be human bit; just like you."

"Neither of you check before you cross the street, you don't now because you can sense the drivers without looking. Izzy doesn't because he's never had to look for a car. We're talking about someone who'd use magic to avoid driving, even I don't go that far." Constantinople explaining just one minor similarity to the thessian that shared his table before the dark clouds washed back over him.

"I wasn't opposed to the idea that my mate was once something else, just didn't plan on hospitalizing him for it..." The exorcist not intending to deliver it, but Psyis still took the heavy blame in his closing statement. 

Psyis just looked at the table; unable to refute Constantinople. It wasn't like the statement was intentionally directed at her; it was just that the guilt felt like home.

It was not a comforting emotion, but it felt like a form of shelter from those filthy notions Dark Night had built within her.

Years of gas-lighting and constructing heroic world views collapsing as she sat with the anti-hero. Psyis could feel her own moral concepts evolving as she recognized the fallout of that perfected but completely sideways notion of justice. It was a philosophy that really only ensured security of earth not actually being just in the bigger or smaller pictures.

The concept simply not able to hold water in the psychic's own opinion, not when it caused so much harm.

The alien finally pulled from her thoughts as the exorcist's vice and voice was refilled. Their server walking away as another few ounces of liquor went down Constantinople's throat.

"Seeing as you know at least something of what he does now you need to start sorting through that information safely, once we get his soul patched up maybe those bots will turn back on, eh?" Constantinople refocused on returning his friend to the truly living.

This time asking Psyis and wanting some real answers that might help with the issue of Izime's seemingly shattered spirit, "So what do you know?"

"Izime was on a space station in a black hole, the same one as the painting on his ship." Psyis decided to start with the easy connections she could make, literally the ones Izime had drawn for them.

His voice echoing in her head nearly hearing him laugh as he'd taunted them with the information he'd never sell. The painting on his ship expressing quietly such an important place in his life for free.

Psyis recalling how she'd pushed him reveal something as minor as his citizenship. Now in comparison to what she knew such a factoid seemed so tiny. There were so many more important questions and answers to be revealed. The thessian shoving aside the slightly excited feeling it gave her back then.

How pleased she'd been to peel back Izime's layers.

That emotion honestly making her feel a bit guilty after all she'd done. Psyis instead thinking back to that old woman who'd unintentionally picked a fight with the League over Izime's title of human. In particular the man Bell had fangirl-ed for as the exorcist was filled in further.

Psyis regretful in her own unsettled classification of him, but still honest as she revealed Izime's past, "The people that made him said he was a demon, but they also said he'd been an A.I."

"Was and had been right, as in past tense?" Constantinople nodded while moving the empty shot glasses aside, leaning forward once more giving the psychic his full attention. Constantinople trying to clear his head by sheer force of will.

 The liquor's grip weakening as he wanted to make sure he remembered every detail.

Any bit of mismatched information compared to what little Izime had shared. Drawing a mental map where the exorcist could connect all the little dots. Tracking just what loopholes that his friend had used to side-step both him, Lucifer, and every governmental agency in the galaxy.

"Yea." Psyis nodded tilting her head as she asked, "Why does that matter?"

Psyis not even sure that the bots would respond to Izime's soul being restored, having already seen the nanites allow him to enter a pseudo-death while he'd been at least cognitive. Certainly not thinking clearly as he'd been trying to wash her ideas of hatred away but still thinking well enough to respond to her thoughts.

The soul wasn't the thing keeping the body functioning so much as Izime had just been dying from his injuries. A missing limb and massive internal hemorrhaging.

A very human death she'd help cause.

It wasn't like when the Basilisk had become Izime had major significance to restoring the artificially grown body Bell had created for him. Psyis following along with Constantinople's thoughts or at least trying to. The psychics once firm world views having never felt a conflict between anything like an Id or ego.

"Tense is a very important thing with demons, not saying Izime was one but how anyone views themselves is incredibly important." Constantinople didn't bother with explaining how Izime state of mind might be affected by swapping between such various states. A demon acted like a demon, an A.I. could simply be stupid, and a human could be damned near anything they'd pleased.

"What or who said this?" The exorcist asking Psyis about the people who knew best. 

"An old woman she looked human, a scientist maybe or a researcher?" Psyis recalled all she could that seemed safe enough to discuss with Constantinople. Avoiding the topics around their casual discussion and focusing more on how the woman had worked Izime beforehand.

"Her name was Bell and she... it was like Izime was an experiment or something; she was making him exercise, checking his responses to things like pain, and um other stimuli." Red eyes glancing away from Constantinople as Psyis recalled the little tidbit she'd thought about sharing with the exorcist, even about to mention it.

Instead, just letting it go.

She'd talk to Izime about it when he woke up, find a way to broach the conversation somehow.

"That would explain a bit about this then," Constantinople cupped his palms muttering quietly before he waved his hands, across the table a flurry of teal spheres coming out.

Their forms slowly wiggling about until they began to take forms, most unrecognizable or more like they were shapeless. Others shifted about taking forms of things the at least one of the two recognized, Bell was there as well as the hall of some space station.

Hmm power?