On The Other Roof a Few Minutes Earlier

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 fluttering as the wind and her own 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 that 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 that 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 breaking away to trigger her communicator Psyis 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 static, Psyis eyebrows furrowing as she tried to make sense of why exactly Steven's communication was coming back broken.

There was no mention of her own 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 deducing 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 those odd pops in the radio's speaker; 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 her and Dark Squires line hadn't been private maybe that was it?

"Miss Psyis you can't control that much gas and the people at the same time." Another voice cut into the comm, "Focus on your job and save these civilians from FearForm, rushing things will play us right into The Quiz's plan."

Psyis giving a half-lidded gaze towards the building where her senior league member had decided to chime in, Stans 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 really flex her powers here in Voltham.

There were just some odd things going on today, first odd sense earlier and now this oddity on Dark Night's premium tech. A unknown in her own psychic senses might just be a personal hiccup, she was learning to use her Thessian powers alone. 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 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 glancing 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.

Nerves tightening, it wasn't though. It was too quiet, to still. Psyis' gut was telling her to pay more attention, to absolutely everything because there was something. 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. The blip in her powers, the radio, it all confirmed there was something else here. Even though she had no goosebumps she could feel her blue mottling spreading, darkening her colors. Thessian biology trying to hide on instinct, blending within the darkness to hide 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 possibly work her up, let alone actually 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 Voidside let alone some synth-roid addict.

Quickly focusing her own 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 under-powered but still sweep most of the nearby city blocks. The little weakening in the buildings 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 had realized what to look for at first.

Nearly letting the whole thing go when she finally saw it. Instincts nearly falling to silent sleep until an ice-cold bucket of fear came washing over them. Psyis was tensing again but now being very careful not to react too obviously as she repeated the same pulse. That same mental echo returning that same form. 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.

Red eyes doubling their focus on the building in-front of 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 unnerving the psychic even furter, she'd thought she'd recognize it even if it was one of the odder aliens, a demon, hell even oidside himself. She would at least recognize it, they all shared similar patterns. Wants, needs, desires could be felt if not thoughts directly interpreted.

Even if it was one of her own specifically trained enemies, 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 completely. It wasn't stealth, it was a flat denial of sensing that had only keyed her off because it was breaking the rules of what she knew. The form clearly an unknown that was manipulating or avoiding her own powers in ways she couldn't even identify.

"Shit." Psyis thought about about switching lines to contact Jenkins for an extra hand, 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. That would still draw Dark Nights 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, its was better if she took matters into her own ha-

"Psyis we've got some movement here." Dark Squires voice came back into her ear, "Everything clear outside?"

"Sorry," Psyis replied on instinct, returning both her hands to their positions. Her power washing 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 flickering 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, still something s I can't see though."

Maybe she cou- Psyis began to reach out, not with a sweep this time. Her hand physically making a grasping motion, the locking mental force slipping off that nothing like it was slicked with oil. A bit more power? Maybe if she'd had still known its exact position then her snare wouldn't have slipped off it so uselessly.

"PSYIS!" Dark Nights voice came directly this time, the electronically altered rasp nearly peaking her earpiece as the growl came across full of emotion. Psyis immediately throwing 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 Nights 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? Surely the Daring Duo hadn't actually triggered one of The Quiz's more intricate and much larger traps causing some kind of damage. 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.

Did that thing deploy FearForm's device?

"Don't breathe! They rigged a vent so it would blast you!" Dark Squires voice came back over the comm giving obvious advice.

Psyis quickly sorting the information Steven had spilled in that message, her mind not feeling any of the emotional worry he was. Just a bit of raw panick 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 and exterior platform designed for AC units there was one directed towards her, blasting the stream yellowish gaseous toxin 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 buildings shield and keeping the current of air whippings upwards from the Voltham street below. Gathering any bits that leaked while still holding the civilians inside safely, accomplishing what Dark Night had deemed impossible for her.

Psyis smiling 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 widening 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 afterwards and add it to the current street tornado, she needed to handle the actual thing producing the gas now though.

The ac-duct was... gone? No that nothing was blocking her from it! 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 slowing until they began to get sucked back into the no longer growing vortex of toxin. Blue hand slowly falling away, Psyis realizing the tendril had lost its strength, no longer having the supply to wash out of the mini tornado she'd made.

Psyis reaching out quickly wanting to make her move, but that nothing just literally vanished under her powers very gaze. Disappearing under her own powers gaze and grasp as if it'd never existed or as if she'd tried to snag FazzPazz. The ac duct actually physically missing this time, that hand faltering under the weight of worry and questions.

That would explain why the toxin had begun to draw back instead of flood around her containment. With out the main supply nothing remained to saturate the surrounding air. 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?

"Just in time Miss Psyis." Dark Nights 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 having clearly just stressed the upper limits of her abilities between shielding and manipulating the air to avoid that attack. Psyis instead requested to 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 simply request anymore.

"Repeat last," Dark Nights growl came back just as tense as she felt. Psyis wondering if it was that odd interference returning on their end now or if Dark Night actually 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. "The device that caused it is gone and there was a..thing..watching me earlier."

"If you're under att-" Steven 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 over-ridden telling Psyis exactly where she stood, somewhere under the two who'd asked for help. Psyis rolling her eyes as her ear-piece 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 still remain our priority, their the mission." The alien kept a distance from the humans tone, replying with a no-nonsense tone. "May have just been an underling, some new goon trying to recover a 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 near entire lifetime spent on the large wet rock. Not at all surprised when Dark Nights 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 own view on Psyis thoughts, "Keep your senses sweeping, use your metal 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, its 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 inside. Never even being aware of the massive funnel of fear toxin that had been sent towards the sky.

"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 its definitely not a human or maybe not even organic?"

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

"Shes 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 sidekicks 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, how she might fight. "If you can't fight it directly use your surroundings, a telekineticly thrown brick isn't a psychic attack its a brick."

"Affirmative, throw bricks."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 grabbing 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 sighing 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 them. 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 the buildings... they were all coming in crystal clear. No blanks, gaps or holes that might indicate that 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 mimicking a bird now before clouding once again vanishing so fast it was as if it had found a gap between her own 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 Voltham to 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 Blane 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 in some stupid regretful night.