Being New Year’s Eve, Jay feels a smidge bad for coming up with this plan right now. Especially seeing how much the other heroes are enjoying the break from their jobs. But he can’t afford to waste this opportunity, especially when he’s discovered just how deep Griffin’s depravity goes.

He storms out of the condominium, trying not to think too hard about what just happened. He can still feel icy fingers on his neck—

“Quickwit!”

Jay pauses at the exit doors. Pixamena is in the lobby, looking worse for wear. She joins him as they exit.

“Quickwit, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m just leaving.”

Jay starts toward his car. Pixamena catches his wrist. “Wait.”

“What?”

“Are you really okay? Did he—did he do something to you?”

“He shouldn’t be that intoxicated at a work party.”

“What did he do? I’m sorry, I should’ve stayed—”

“It’s okay. He was just saying some inappropriate things. I didn’t want him to be alone with you.”

“...”

“Are you sure? If he did anything, I would believe you, Jay.”

Jay stops at his car. His hand is on the door handle. “He backed me into a corner. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Fuck. Jay, we need to report this.”

Jay turns to Pixamena. “What exactly do you think will happen if we do?”

“We can get you assigned back as my sidekick. This is, it’s not right. You can’t go on like this. Who knows what he could do next?”

Jay furrows his brow. She’s right. He can’t keep up this charade anymore.

“Faye, I need to clear my mind. You should come with me.”

“Oh…okay. Where are we going?”

“Just on a drive.”

Jay steps into his car, heart pounding. He shoots Gannet a quick heads up text as Pixamena slides into the passenger seat. Jay turns the key in the ignition, turning onto the road. He almost decides to turn back a few times, but in the end, he commits to his plan.

Pixamena looks out the window as Jay parks. “The Museum of Fine Arts? I’m pretty sure they’re closed right now.”

“Probably. But I bet we can find our way inside, anyway.”

“You want to break in?”

“Yeah, why not? They’re not going to call the police on us. Besides, it’s not like we’re going to steal anything. I just want to look.”

“You know what? Fuck it. If Alphaman is allowed to do whatever he wants, so are we.”

Jay grins. “Allright!”

They exit the van, starting to scan the perimeter for a way in.

Pixamena smiles widely. “I found something! Look, this window is loose.”

Jay walks over. He wiggles the loose glass panel. “Think you can get it open?”

Pixamena giggles maliciously as she manifests a purple crowbar, wrenching it up. They step inside, right into what seems to be an exhibit of some abstract art.

“Where do you want to go first?” Jay asks.

“Oh! Have you ever seen that one with the lights?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Let's go!”

Jay observes the wide hallways of the museum as they walk. He has been before, but it feels odd to see it so empty and unlit. Not quite unsettling, he finds he’s enjoying having the exhibits all to himself, but it's odd all the same. Their footsteps echo on the linoleum, making all the more clear they’re the only ones in the building right now.

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They wander around a bit, occasionally stopping now and then to comment on something, until they come to their destination. They descend the wide stairs to the James Turrell tunnel.

“It’s not on,” Pixamena pouts.

“Course’ not. It’s after hours. What does it usually look like when it's on?”

“It glows red, and it's like you’re entering a portal to another universe. It's super cool.”

Pixamena enters the pitch-black tunnel, manifesting a little pink glow stick in her hands. The light reflects off the glass walls, barely illuminating it enough to see the path ahead. An infinity mirror effect takes place. Jay watches his reflections copy his movements.

Pixamena puts a peace sign over his head, taking a picture. Jay smiles. “I didn’t say you could take that.”

She giggles as she edits the photos, walking down the tunnel. “I don’t need your permission. I needed a selfie to celebrate the new year, and you were the closest available victim.”

“Are you going to post it online?”

“No. It’s just for my personal memories.”

Pixamena hums contentedly as she slips her phone in her purse. But as she looks up, she gasps and drops it and the glowstick. Darkness consumes everything as she stares at the glowing red eyes at the end of the tunnel. There's a tense moment where Jay doubts it's Stygian. He imagines for a moment that Griffin followed them. Pixamena doesn’t care either way. She immediately conjures her bow and shoots off several luminescent arrows toward the threat. Purple shadows shoot out, catching them mid air. The last one is caught by a glowing hand, lighting Stygian’s profile. His face is serious for once, lacking his characteristic smile.

“Faye. I just want to talk.”

“Fuck! Talk my ass! This is an ambush!”

“If it was an ambush, you’d already be dead. We need to talk. This has been put off way too long.”

Pixamena nocks another arrow. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t call the others here.”

She gasps as Jay rips the bow from her hands. “Because he’s right.”

“Witty, what are you doing?!”

Pixamena jumps as the space is suddenly filled with a soft light. Stygian’s shadows line the ceiling, illuminating the tunnel with a ethereal purple glow. He steps forward, looking uncharacteristically small. He’s not wearing his usual get-up. Instead, he’s in an oversized flannel and shirt, both Jay’s, dark jeans, and black converse. It makes him look younger, somehow.

Stygian takes a step forward. “I never meant to hurt anyone. The Network is doing horrible things, Faye.”

Pixamena grits her teeth. “They’re the only ones keeping supers in check. They’re not perfect, but we can’t just let everyone run amok.”

“You have to see this isn't a real solution. Do you know what they do? What they did to me? You know me, Faye! You know I wouldn’t be doing this unless I had a good reason!”

“The only thing I know is that you're not my friend! Stygian isn’t my friend!”

“They didn’t just make Gannet, they made me too. And When neither of us met their expectations, they tortured us. They tortured me. I didn’t…I didn’t mean to hurt anyone when I left. I just wanted it to stop.”

“Right. So what excuse do you have for recent deaths? You had a bad day?”

“Alphaman did it,” Jay growls.

Pixamena turns to Jay, expression shocked like a deer in the headlights. “What?”

“He’s insane, Pixie. He lost control.”

“How do you know that?”

“Look at the way he acts. Think about it. You think that’s what a hero is? He needs to be put down. We need to put him down.”

“I’m not, I’m not helping you kill Alphaman! Are you insane?! You have no proof he did it!”

“I was there. He did it.”

There's a tense moment before Pixamena finally puts the pieces together. Her face contorts through several emotions before finally settling on rage. Jay darts to the side as Pixamena conjures a staff, crashing it into the glass with a thunderous crack!

She swings again, eyes wide. “You fucker! You’re working with a villain!?”

She screams as shadows dart out binding her arms and legs. “Let me go! Fuck you, asshole!”

Jay ignores her curses as they leave the tunnel. Stygian drags her along as she kicks and screams, conjuring several bladed weapons around her which fall uselessly to the ground.

Stygian finally gags her mouth, combing a hand through his hair. “Fuck. Jay, I think this was a bad idea.”

“I know. I was hoping she’d come around. But we can’t dwell on it. We can use her as leverage, at least.”

Pixamena makes an enraged squeal, her muffled voice saying something that sounded a lot like a “Bitch!”

Stygian glares, eyes flashing. “I’m not using my best friend as leverage, Jay!”

“I don’t like it any more than you, but we need any advantage we can get. Besides, it’s not like we’re actually going to hurt her.”

Suddenly, one of the marble statues nearby melts into a puddle of rainbow goo. Razzmatazz giggles. “If you’re not going to hurt her, can I?”

“Razz. Where’s Echo?”

“She’s setting up in the statue exhibit. Took us a hot minute to find somewhere with an outlet.”

“Can you take Pixamena? We need Stygian focused.”

Razzmatazz opens her arms wide, transforming them into giant scaly paws which hold the wriggling magical girl tight. Pixamena gets a screech out before Razzmatazz sprouts a pink tendril and covers her mouth. She giggles, eyes neon pink. “None of that, princess.”

Jay leads the way toward the statue exhibit. He finds Echo there, setting up the buzzing device. “Quickwit. You’re finally here.”

Echo stands from where she’s kneeling in front of her project. Jay swallows nervously, watching the room flicker with the strobing light of the electricity. The effect is eerie, giving the illusion that the statues are moving.

“Hello Echo. Thank you for coming on such short notice,” says Jay.

“You didn’t elaborate on your plan, but I hope you’re not planning to terminate Alphaman the same way Stygian’s doppelgänger was terminated.”

“No. I’m not.”

Razzmatazz sits on the floor, tugging Pixamena into her lap. “Why not? From what I heard, it was, um, effective.”

Echo’s screen flashes red. “The device can only summon supers from other universes and send them back. It can’t send people away at the moment. If we used it on Alphaman, it would have no effect.”

Jay’s eyes harden. “We’re not using it to send Alphaman away. We’re going to find out how to kill him.”