Midnight, in a place that I'm going to assume is Black City

-A deep, raspy, and quite obviously faked voice begins speaking from somewhere behind the vigilant caped crusader.-

The Auric Avenger: Quiet tonight, isn't it?

Black City

-The Auric Avenger sits himself down next to Shieldmaiden, his legs dangling over the edge of the roof.-

The Auric Avenger: No news is good news, as they say. Though it makes our nights out a lot less interesting.

Black City

-The Auric Avenger raises an eyebrow at the sudden contact but doesn't protest, instead choosing to idly inspect the assortment of gadgets on his utility belt in case they somehow stopped working in the ten minutes or so since he last checked.-

The Auric Avenger: Maybe. Perhaps they're terrified of the humiliation that'd come with being beaten up by a wannabe Viking with a big dinner plate.

Black City

The Auric Avenger: You're just jealous that I got a professional to do my costume rather than having a pet robot put it together out of scrap metal. Style counts for a lot when you're-

-He is interrupted by every single light in the city (not that there were many on to begin with) blinking out at once, leaving the rooftop in near-total darkness beneath the moonless sky.-

The Auric Avenger: ...Okay, looks like we might actually have a situation on our hands now.

Black City

-The Auric Avenger nods and pulls a pair of small pocket lights off of his belt, one of which he clips to the side of his mask. The other he hands to Shieldmaiden.-

The Auric Avenger: Way ahead of you. My mask's ARHUD helps me see in low-light conditions, but I'd rather not have to look at the city through the greenish haze of night-vision. It's ugly enough as-is.

-He raises a hand to the side of his mask, waits a moment, then frowns.-

The Auric Avenger: ...My link with Gaia's gone dead. Looks like we're going to have to figure out what's responsible for this blackout ourselves. You got any ideas, or should I handle the thinking as per usual?

Black City

-The Auric Avenger nods.-

The Auric Avenger: Yeah, the power plant should probably be our first stop. They should at least be able to tell us what the problem is, if nothing else. Thankfully, the plant's not far from here... try to keep up.

-He hits the Maneuver Gear on his waist and a grappling hook shoots out, anchoring him to a nearby building and allowing him to start swinging through the streets, the light on his head making him look like a firefly buzzing through the city.-

Black City

-The Auric Avenger yelps as Shieldmaiden teleports onto his shoulder and struggles to maintain his balance as he swings, his next grappling hook shot nearly missing its mark.-

The Auric Avenger: Warn me before you do that next time, will you? The weight distribution on the Maneuver Gear is screwy enough without suddenly increasing my mass mid-swing...

-After about a minute or so of travel, he lands outside the power plant in Black City's industrial district. The door leading into the plant is tightly barred, but this doesn't matter, because there is also a massive hole in the wall not five feet away from it.-

The Auric Avenger: ...Seems like somebody took the idea of breaking and entering a little too literally.

-He steps inside, flashlight darting from corner to corner as he looks around.-

Black City

-Thankfully for both Shieldmaiden and the Auric Avenger, there are no barnacles hanging from the ceiling and waiting to devour them. There doesn't appear to be anything of interest in the room at all, save for scorchmarks on the walls and floor that might suggest a fight - however, there are no unconscious bodies or anything of the sort to accompany them.-

The Auric Avenger: Yes, because criminals, lunatics and supervillains are all renowned for their rational thinking skills.

-The sound of a distant explosion originating from some floors above causes the floor to shake and knocks plaster loose from the ceiling.-

The Auric Avenger: Now seem like a good time to split up and sweep the building?

Black City

The Auric Avenger: Knock yourself out. Actually, don't, because then I'd have to come and rescue you, and that would just be a pain.

-He disappears through a side door as Shieldmaiden makes her way up the stairs. Once she reaches the third floor, however, she may find the exit to the stairwell blocked by a metal grid with bolts of electricity coursing through it menacingly.-

Black City

-Since the grid isn't actually bolted in place, it's kicked aside pretty easily even without the help of the pistons built into Shieldmaiden's boots. The third floor itself consists of a large bank of consoles, a balcony looking over a pair of power conduits which appear to have been deactivated, and a pair of hapless night-shift workers who are currently far too unconscious to be worth noting. With her flashlight, Shieldmaiden may just about catch a glimpse of something darting - nay, slithering - away into the vents upon hearing the sound of the grid being kicked down.-

Black City

-The workers are indeed still alive, though considerably dazed and not in much of a state to respond to interviews. Shieldmaiden's journey through the vents allows her to catch sight of an Eelektrik's tail slithering along in front of her, and the Eelektrik it belongs to spins around upon realising that it's being pursued.-

Eelektrik: <Hisssssss! Who daresssssss interfere with the plansssssss of the Amplifier?>

-It zaps Shieldmaiden with a Thunder Wave.-

Black City

-The grabbed Eelektrik squirms in a futile attempt to try and break free from Shieldmaiden's claws.-

Eelektrik: <You have not heard of the Amplifier I sssssserve? The one who hassssssss plunged your city into darknesssssss? Then I can promisssssssse you that you will know her name sssssssssoon enough.>