Arriving at Arcadia, they're greeted by an array of games, all shimmering and flashing in the dark [https://img.wattpad.com/75e6b161c2b270221956084715d16f17a6332f1a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f43334e5658766a775f746b6b79773d3d2d313337313838353936302e313737613163376565626464383431653738303430333534303239332e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Arriving at Arcadia, they're greeted by an array of games, all shimmering and flashing in the dark. Luckily, it's mostly deserted—not many people want to drink and play videogames in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, Jay guesses.

Gannet scuttles off to the bar as Jay and Walljumper explore the area. Immediately, the teenager finds something interesting; he swipes the plastic card received at the entrance and begins to aggressively skeeball.

Jay watches with mild amusement, sitting at a nearby table. Gannet joins him soon after, setting the drinks down.

"Jesus christ," Jay marvels at the giant pink and purple slushy the villain sets on the table. "You're not going to be able to walk after drinking all that! And—is that glitter in there?!"

"I asked them to half the spirits. And yes, it has edible glitter in it and sprinkles shaped like Pomeranians."

"How much did it cost?"

Gannet smiles innocently, sipping the diabetes-inducing slushy. "16 bucks."

"16—16 bucks!?"

"Worth it."

"How?!"

"It's so pink."

"Jesus—"

"You wanna try some? You know you wanna!" Gannet sing-songs, shaking the glittering drink.

Against his better judgment, Jay lifts his mask, taking a sip. His mouth recoils at the overpowering taste of artificial grape, cotton candy, and vanilla.

Gannet grins, chuckling at the pinched expression. "Yes! Come to the dark side, Quickwit!"

Jay sputters, coughing as a Pixiepuff-shaped sprinkle goes up his nose. "Shut up!"

Gannet pretends to hold a microphone, grinning as he attempts his best Scoops impression. "His first step towards villainy was sipping a glamorous pink cocktail while in the care of a minor. Absolutely shameful."

Jay continues to cough-laugh. "You asshole! I'm gonna suffocate!"

The villain giggles, unrepentant. Jay turns his attention to Walljumper, watching him score insane amounts of tickets. He soothes his throat with a swig of his own drink, still wincing at the sweet taste.

"Um, anyway, thanks for letting me bring him along. He needs a break."

Gannet nods. "I saw what happened with him and recluse. He's a good kid to care about a villain like that...he reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age."

"Yeah?"

The dark-haired man mixes his drink with the straw, watching how the shimmering hues swirl in the low light. "Yeah. Things were rough for me, so I acted out a lot."

Jay frowns. The rule about tragedy also applies to villains. Did something happen to Gannet to push him to this lifestyle?

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Gannet smiles sadly, looking down at where he's now clenching his drink. "I...I had to run away from home when I was a teenager. I was homeless for around four years and I...I was using."

"...Using?"

Gannet averts his eyes, rubbing his arm. "Drugs."

Jay's heart drops. "Shit, I'm sorry..."

The villain attempts to smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "It's okay. I got help...it's actually how I met Faye, she gave me a place to stay while I got clean."

The blonde's eyes dart to the cocktail in Gannet's hand. "Um, is it okay for you to be drinking...?"

"Yeah. I don't get drunk, and I never really had any issues with alcohol," the villain squeezes his cup harder. "Alcohol makes you uninhibited. I needed the opposite...to feel like I didn't care about anything..."

Jay can't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Gannet. His mouth goes dry, mind searching for the words to comfort his friend.

Face grim, the villain meets the blond's gaze. "Quickwit, now that you know this horrible thing about me..." his lip curls mischievously into a smirk, "you would look like an asshole if you didn't come play with me. I need this—it's the only thing that will cheer me up!"

The hero laughs out loud, face pinking at his inability to hold in his reaction. "Jesus! How am I supposed to say no to that?"

"You can't," Gannet purrs.

"Fine..."

"Yes!"

The villain jumps up, giddily dragging Jay to the strobing machine by the wrist. One swipe of the plastic later, and the music begins to blare from the ancient machine. The villain presses a few buttons, choosing some hyper-techno song, and their dance battle begins.

Jay sucks at it, obviously. No matter how much he trains his reflexes, he's just not built for rhythm and dance. Mostly though, he's distracted by Gannet—the villain is supernaturally good at this game, constantly scoring perfectly as he moves fluidly to the beat.

Mentally, Jay adds superior reflexes to Stygian's list of powers. The hero wonders if there are any other abilities the villain is hiding...his class should be revealed soon, any other additional powers would make him one of the strongest A-classes in Houston, if not the strongest.

Up against that, the hero loses the game. He pants as he leans on the support bar, snorting as he watches Gannet inputs GIAN into the leaderboard.

"What's that stand for?" He prods.

"An inside joke."

"You're not going to tell me?"

Gannet grins. "Maybe one day!"

Jay smirks, feeling a little superior knowing he's outsmarted the villain. "Does it stand for giant dork?"

"—wha! No!"

"Dork is already a four-letter word, Gannet."

Walljumper, who had wandered over with an armful of tickets during the battle, snorts. "Dude, you cannot seriously be calling your boyfriend a dork when your superhero name used to be Common Sense Man."

Jay feels his face flush. "I was 14 when I made that name! And he's not my—"

The hero falters, anxious. Shit, is Gannet going to get pissed by Jay denying they're in a relationship? He glances at the villain nervously but is pleasantly surprised to find Gannet grinning mischievously, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Go on, Quickwit. We're waiting..."

Jay rolls his eyes. "We're friends. That's it..."

"Very special friends," Gannet smirks.

Walljumper raises an eyebrow. "If that's your cover to protect him from villains, it's not gonna work. Y'all make moon eyes at each other constantly..."

"I do not—nobody's going to target a random sidekick's friend," Jay huffs, "that's something that only happens to heroes, as illogical as that is..."

"What about Stygian?"

Gannet slurps his drink, not even bother lifting his mouth from his straw as he replies. "Wu bout' em?"

"People are speculating he's got some kind of vendetta against Quickwit. He shows up everywhere he does!"

Shit. So people are finally noticing? "Stygian isn't the sort to mess with civilians...I think he just likes picking on a C-class sidekick."

"No," Gannet pouts, "he probably recognizes you as the only hero worth fighting."

Walljumper raises an eyebrow. "Dude, your rose-colored glasses are thicker than a dictionary if you really believe that."

Jay scowls. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just insult me, and go buy us pizza now."

"Yay!" Gannet cheers, a little tipsy now that he's finally finished off the slushy.

Jay fiddles for his wallet, turning towards the counter. But before he makes it anywhere close to his destination, chaos erupts in the arcade.

Lights flicker and strobe as screams echo throughout the arcade. Swiftly, the hero locates the source of the pandemonium. From the entrance, two women have entered—not any women though, two villains. Before he has any chance to react, the emergency doors shut tightly, locking everyone inside with Echo and Frame.

Before he has any chance to react, the emergency doors shut tightly, locking everyone inside with Echo and Frame [https://img.wattpad.com/13750820db539dcefc9ed7c42cb442b96c67f521/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f795151736d70346b3752666373413d3d2d313337313838353936302e313737613739386438333336376436363337353332353137333238302e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Stolen novel; please report.

Immediately, Jay is ready for action, equipping his staff [https://img.wattpad.com/fa036bc5ac26fb201f6633e6cea4fc6d87ef4bd3/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6d62654d67645339464c507764673d3d2d313337313838353936302e3137376137396336356235636139623437333638363237373734322e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Immediately, Jay is ready for action, equipping his staff. Walljumper follows his example...but looks much less confident.

Echo is the first to approach, her uncanny TV-like head turning to the teenager. "Greetings, heroes.

What a surprise we meet here..."

Jay grimaces. This definitely isn't a coincidence—they're being targeted as the weak links of the Network.

"Cut the theatrics," the teen growls, "what do you want?!"

Frame joins her partner, moving delicately on pointed toes. "We want to christen our new partnership with a demand—bring us two doses of chemical Z in exchange for everyone in this arcade..."

Jay tightens his grip on his staff. "The Network doesn't negotiate with villains, and even if they did, I really doubt they could convince Professor Zenith to hand that over."

"Yeah. I really doubt he'd be willing to give up the key to turning two rando's into Class-S villains," Walljumper growls.

"We don't seek to destroy Houston like Calamity. We only seek revenge on those who wronged us," Echo starts, the colors of her TV-head flashing wildly. "The Network—"

Jay darts forward, interrupting the villain's explanation mid-sentence. But with a quick order from Echo, he's swiftly blocked with a swift kick to the stomach by Frame.

"Quickwit!" Gannet cries, running to his hero's side amongst the wreckage of a crane machine.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart," Frame smirks, "it only takes my partner a moment to activate her powers, and after that, she can predict anything in the next five minutes!"

"Why are you explaining it like that?" Jay groans, "Everyone already knows how her power works!"

"Actually I have no idea who these two are," Walljumper adds sheepishly.

"Are you kidd—she predicts things for five minutes with a five-minute cooldown. And Frame—"

Before Jay can finish, the villainess pirouettes, and with a flash of light a sabertooth tiger materializes in the arcade.

"...can conjure the past of any person, place, or thing..."

Walljumper points a chair at the big cat, eyes wide. "How does that equate to sabertooth tiger?!"

Gannet yelps, pulling Jay up from the rubble as the feline pounces. The hero uses the momentum to pull a table onto its side, shoving the villain behind it and readying his staff. "Texas used to have sabertooth tigers! There must be a fossil somewhere beneath us!"

"Are you fuckin—ah!"

Walljumper springs onto the ceiling like a frightened cat as the sabertooth tiger lashes out at him. Jay springs into action, bringing his staff down on the feline's head. The sabertooth roars, brandishing its deadly fangs, and swipes a mighty paw at the hero. Jay ducks out of the way, flinging himself back. The frightened feline roars, swinging its head around as it looks for an escape from the strobing neon lights.

Walljumper takes the opportunity to ambush, knocking the feline to the ground with a fierce kick to the head as he falls from the ceiling. But even with the prehistoric creature knocked out, the danger is far from over.

Frame leaps forward, flinging Jay once more into another arcade game. Walljumper swings a leg at the villainess, but misses as Echo calls out "duck!"

Ignoring the aches and pains, Jay stands to rejoin the fight, but stumbles at something holding onto his leg. He looks down, seeing a small curly-haired toddler clinging to his leg. An eight-eyed toddler.

Jay scoops the young Walljumper into his arms, running across the room to where Gannet is still sheltering, watching the fight. He shoves the child into the villain's arms.

"Keep him safe, whatever happens to the doubles happens to the present version!"

Gannet takes the toddler into his arms, eyes going wide as he watches something over Jay's shoulder. "That's really bad then!"

Jay whips his head around to see not one but three teenagers; Walljumper, Common Sense Man, and a very frazzled, ragged-looking 16-year-old Gannet.

Unfortunately, the hero can only gape as he witnesses Frame lift an ancient PAC-man console above her head, poised to throw it at the teenage Gannet.

Luckily, Jay is able to reach him in time—the younger Jay that is. The teenage version of himself pulls the young villain out of the way, dragging him behind a tipped-over air hockey table, where the older hero is already heading for cover.

"What the fuck is going on?!" The young villain asks.

"Time travel shenanigans," Jay answers, peeking above the table to watch Walljumper dart around the arcade skillfully, "two A-class villains have trapped us and multiple civilians inside this arcade."

"You're a hero, right? Who are you?"

Jay points to his younger self. "Common Sense Man. I go by Quickwit now."

"Common Sense Man?! Ugh! Couldn't I get trapped with a cool hero like Delta?!"

"Wah—hey! I'm cool!" Both versions of Jay protest in unison.

"You're not cool, you're both stupid and your outfits suck!"

"I like it...blue looks good," the younger Jay comments.

"It's boring. Almost as bad as yours! A face mask and a black hoodie with three letters sewn on is not a hero outfit. And the name—do you have zero imagination!?"

Jay pinches the bridge of his nose. "I don't have time for this. You—" Jay points at his younger self, "take him over with the older Gannet and keep them safe..."

"Fuck that!" The teenage villain growls, "I can handle this."

Before Jay can protest, the teenager vaults over the table and begins to approach Echo and Frame, hands clenched into fists.

"Gannet! Stop!"

Frame drops a weary Walljumper to the ground, grinning as the new challenger approaches. "Oh, so the civilian wants to give it a try?"

The teen opens his mouth to respond but is interrupted by the adult Gannet stepping forward. "Stop! Don't do this!"

Jay grabs his friend by the wrist, attempting to hold him back. The younger villain seems to notice the protective action, sneering and narrowing his eyes. "Why the fuck were you hiding?"

"I—the heroes—" Gannet falters.

"You wanted him to save you? You wanted someone to play the hero for you?"

"He's my friend—I have friends now! You're going to fuck everything up!"

The young Gannet seems unphased, scoffing. "You can't be me—I can't be so pathetic you live in such delusion."

"Stop!"

The teen ignores his future self, turning back to the villainous duo. Time and space shivers around Frame as the young villain approaches, preparing her next attack. But before she has a chance to summon a dinosaur or yet another person from the past, Echo yells out. "Frame! Don't!"

The villainess pauses, stumbling on her toes. "What?"

Echo grabs her partner, pulling her away with a flicker of nervous light. "We surrender!"

"What?!" Frame exclaims.

"He's—" Echo's voice glitches out as she glances at where Gannet is tensed...poised and ready to pounce, Jay guesses.

Rather than facing that fate, the villainess decides to kneel, putting her hands behind her back. Frame follows suit, albeit much more hesitantly. Jay scrambles over, cuffing the villains as the emergency doors finally raise.

"Is it over?" Walljumper croaks, sitting up as his younger version toddles over into his lap.

Jay sighs. "Not yet."

Once the villains are taken away by the cops, and the sabertooth tiger is wrangled by a group of very excited exotic vets, it's finally time to leave. They all pile into Jay's van...where he remembers once more why he hates working with kids.

"Both of you stop squabbling back there!" He growls, "I will turn this van around and dump you at the reformatory!"

"He's such an asshole! Can I swap seats?" The young Jay whines

"Do it! We're going to die anyway!" The young Gannet growls.

Walljumper tenses in his seat, holding the toddler in his lap more securely. "Wait, really?!"

"No," Jay sighs, "soon the timeline is going to correct by fusing our young selves with our older versions. You'll still exist as us, and we'll have your memories."

"Is that optional? Can I choose to die instead?" The young Gannet grumbles.

"Don't I have enough trauma?" Walljumper sighs.

Jay's younger self sits up, adjusting his seatbelt. "I think there's something more important to discuss here, and that's—" he points at the young villain sitting next to him, "Why did they stop attacking because of him?"

Shit. Jay hates being smart sometimes. "They didn't stop attacking because of him, it was—"

"They clearly did! I think it's—"

"Dude, it's cus' future you was about to go ham on them to protect your future boyfriend," Walljumper sighs.

Both Jay and Gannet's teenage selves tense at the word boyfriend. Jay watches as his past self turns beet red, chuckling as the teenage Gannet gives the boy next to him a once-over.

"I don't—I'm straight!" The blond teen squawks.

"Ha," Gannet snorts, "no."

"I am! I have a girlfriend!"

Jay pulls up to Headquarters, parking in front of Walljumper's abode. Wearily, the eight-eyed hero exits the van, giving a wave as he totes the toddler with him to his room. The sidekick sighs, glancing at himself in the backseat.

"Jenny asked us out as a prank. Then we get revenge by kissing her brother at her 17th birthday party. We are definitely not straight."

"Nice!" Gannet laughs.

"My parents are going to be so angry..." the young hero moans, covering his face.

Taking pity on the deflated teen, Gannet smiles, turning around in his seat to face the blond. "But you know—you become a Network contracted hero in the future! And I'm your biggest fan!"

The teenager fiddles with his mask, turning doubt-filled eyes toward the villain. "Why?"

"Because you're amazing, Common Sense Man," Gannet giggles, "I'm sorry I didn't see it when it was younger."

Jay feels his own face heat in tandem with his younger self. "Yeah and um, in the future Gannet has, uh, a cat and an apartment..."

The young villain seems to perk up, tearing his eyes away from the teen next to him. "...My own apartment?"

"Yeah. It's really nice, I've been there. Your cat Java is really cute."

"Is it a black cat?"

Jay smiles. "Yeah. He's really fluffy."

The teen gives a small grin, brushing his bangs aside shyly. Jay feels a tug in his heartstrings...but the sweet moment isn't to last. Both teens begin to turn translucent and hazy as the timeline begins to right itself.

The teen hero peers at his hands anxiously, "Shit..."

"See you on the other side, Common Sense Man," the young villain whispers.

Jay closes his eyes as the emotions and thoughts of his younger self filter in. A few moments later, he reopens his eyes to the dark car, finding it's just him and Gannet now. He groans as all his teenage angst comes to the surface, hand raking over his face. "Damn. I haven't thought about my parents in ages..."

But Jay's thoughts of his lonely upbringing evaporate with the sound of Gannet sobbing. Eyes flying open, he's greeted with the sight of tears running down the villain's face.

"Gannet! What—"

Jay stops short. He doesn't need to ask why this is upsetting—anyone who had been through what Gannet has would be upset to return to that headspace.

The hero moves to turn the ignition on, intending to get his friend home, but a crawling anxiety sweeps through his mind—is this the kind of thing that makes people relapse? What if Gannet goes home and is tempted by these fresh memories?

Jay curses himself for not doing more research on this topic, heroes are supposed to be prepared for anything!

He yanks the key out of the car, storming out of the van before opening Gannet's door. The villain looks up, confused.

"I'm sorry—what...?"

"C'mon. Java will be okay for the night, right?"

"Are you inviting me inside? Am I allowed in headquarters?"

Jay darts his eyes back to the building. "No, but you shouldn't be alone right now..."

The blond jolts as suddenly, Gannet wraps his arms around Jay, standing and burying his face in the crook of the hero's shoulder. Jay hesitates for a moment before allowing himself to sink into the embrace.

As he holds the villain against himself, he can't help but wonder what would've happened if he and Gannet had met earlier in their lives. Would they have connected the same way they have now, if they had met when they both felt so alone in the world?

Jay tightens his grip on the villain. He wishes that's the way things had turned out...he wishes they had been given the chance to save each other from the heartbreak of their past.

Gannet sighs into the hero's suit, sniffling. The blond lets a gloved hand caress the nape of the villain's neck, enjoying how it causes a shiver in the dark-haired man.

Well, he's a little late, but Jay is here now...and he's going to save this villain.

Because that's what heroes do.

Because that's what heroes do [https://img.wattpad.com/5232e7686ce5a6944e5ee644b821936fb0b53042/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4b3143566837655777696c6448673d3d2d313337313838353936302e313737613163383162306231663232303231393331313034383335362e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]