It's the modus operandi after all. Villains dangle busses of school children off bridges, kill your parents, turn your uncle into an evil mastermind intent on being your nemesis—it's their thing. They're bad. Heroes are good. There's no blurring of that line.

So if Jay got up right now and killed Zenith on the spot, that would be in character. He would be playing his part of a villain so well if that bastard got what he deserved, that fucker—

...Be careful Jay...

The fucking voices! Weren't the pills supposed to stop them? Jay covers his face, hyperventilating.

"Quickwit, I understand it's a lot to take in. If you have questions, now is the time to ask," says Zenith.

Jay is Enraged. He can't get the words out. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. As crazy as it sounds, the voice in his head is right. Even if he was able to take down Zenith, Alphaman would end him in a second. Even with Jay's new enhancements, that much is certain.

Suddenly, Alphaman stalks forward. He pulls his mask off, sneering. "Hey, bozo, you got all that, right?"

Jay stares blankly. It's still surreal to see his boyfriend's weathered face look back at him.

"Stygian. Evil clone. Bad. You're going to help us fix it. Got it?"

Jay's powers must be lagging today, because they're not able to prevent his next words. "What, you want me to clean this mess myself? You want me to do the actual work while the Network gets to play God, Zenith gets to play fucking doctor Mengele, and you get to play Hero?"

Alphaman's eyes go wide, red shimmering just behind his irises. Jay refuses to show fear, gritting his teeth as he stares back.

Zenith interrupts. "Quickwit, sit down. You'd do well to remember who the leader of the Dawnbreakers is."

"Oh, I'm sorry for the insubordination when I've just been informed that the Network has been conducting human experiments. Clearly, the correct course of action is kissing your fucking boots."

"In times of hardship, heroes make hard choices, Quickwit. We only did what we felt we had to."

"Why would you have to fucking clone someone?"

"Sit down, Jay. I will explain."

Jay grits his teeth. Great. Of course the Network wouldn't obscure his identity from Zenith. Jay sits, hands clenched.

Zenith huffs, crossing his arms. "Good. To start, I'd like to ask you a question. Do you have any family members that died during Calamity Day?"

"My uncle. He worked in Houston."

"Many families lost their loved ones. It was a catastrophic loss for the state, and the reason for the formation of the Network. We knew that if we wanted to prevent another tragic loss of life, we needed a unified defense force made of heroes."

"I knew this already. They teach it in kindergarten."

"I'm getting there. We knew we needed a defense force, but we also knew we needed a leader, an S-class, to be the first defense against any future Calamity-level threats."

Alphaman butts in abruptly. "They needed me."

"Yes. We need Alphaman. Unfortunately, he is not immortal, there are side effects of his healing factor now limiting his lifespan. As a result, we began preparing a successor to take on his mantle. This led to the formation of Project Chimera. A project dedicated to artificially creating an S-class superhero."

"So you cloned him?"

"It wasn't our first attempt at creating a S-Class. We tried to isolate the gene that gives Alphaman his powers with Compound Z. However, when it was introduced to a new subject, the body would shortly cannibalize itself after injection."

What a surprise, Jay thinks bitterly, the mutagenic drug that the Network hyped up as a huge threat to the country was made in-house!

"Our next plan was to opt for a more natural route by having Alphaman produce heirs."

"Produce heirs?"

"We started an in vitro fertilization clinic. Several pregnancies successfully carried to term, but unfortunately we discovered that we couldn't naturally reproduce the source of Alphaman's power."

"None of the brats had anything close to my powers," says Alphaman.

"Correct. If we wanted to create another S-class, we needed to recreate the conditions of Alphaman's origins."

"Chimeric Potential," says Jay.

Zenith nods. "Exactly. If a fetus with superpowers is absorbed into its twin, the phenomena of Chimeric Potential occurs. For reasons unknown, as a response to absorption, the twin overcompensates its powers in addition to enhancing any inherent qualities of the original entity. So cell regeneration, strength, speed—all of it reaches its fullest potential."

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"But it didn't work."

"It worked, he just couldn't handle it," growls Alphaman.

"There's another side effect of Chimeric Potential. It creates two distinct entities in one body. In Subject 2510, it created Gannet and Stygian. Unfortunately, one personality always takes on the worst traits: impulsive, easy to anger, animalistic. We were hopeful that we could teach 2510 how to best his darker instincts, like Alphaman. Unfortunately, we failed. In our haste to protect Houston, we accidentally created a new Calamity," says Zenith.

"Why tell me any of this? How do you want me to help?" says Jay.

"Alphaman is more experienced than Stygian. Our calculations have concluded there's a 70% chance of success if they fought."

Jay's stomach drops, his body going cold. There was a 70% chance Stygian would lose?

"I can see by your expression you understand the severity of the situation. 70% is not ideal by any sense of the word," says Zenith.

"That still doesn't explain what I have to do with this."

"The reason I tell you this today is because we know your powers work best the more information you're privy to. We also know that when paired with heroes who take your advice, their rates of success improve. We've seen a sharp rise in wins when paired with you."

Oh. Oh no.

"You said I was a Dawnbreaker now. You said I was done being a sidekick!"

"We said you'd be joining a team. Now that we see our hypothesis proven correct, we've decided to pair you with Alphaman."

Shit, shit, fuck!

"No. I don't want to."

Alphaman glares, eyes glowing a livid red. "Are you seriously rejecting me as your partner?"

'I didn't sign up for this!"

Zenith sneers, a putrid look that makes Jay nauseous. "Unfortunately, Quickwit, you did. I understand your apprehension about taking on this role, but you are obligated as a Network-contracted hero to accept this new position."

Jay leans back in his seat, taking deep breaths. His rationality starts to kick in. This was good. If Stygian really had such a low chance of beating Alphaman, Jay needed to learn everything about this jackass. He needed to turn the tide in Stygian's favor.

"Fine. I accept."

Alphaman laughs. "Good choice."

"As mentioned before, you're obligated to keep what you have learned today private. However, due to a unique situation regarding Pixamena, she has also been informed of Stygian's nature," says Zenith.

"Pixamena knows about Project Chimera?"

She was priorly made aware of the fact that Stygian is a clone of Alphaman, and that her former friend has been overcome by his dark side. That's the extent of what we have determined pertinent to her situation. Use that information as you may."

"Alright, are we done here?" Alphaman yawns, stretching.

"Yes. Please meet back at headquarters for training."

Without even a goodbye, Alphaman puts his helmet back on and strides out of the room. Jay watches him leave, numbly standing from his seat to follow a few moments later. As he steps out into the hall, he's suddenly tackled by a blur of glitter and fairy dust.

"Quickwit! Congrats!" Pixamena yells, giddily.

"Ah!"

She releases Jay. "Sorry, sorry. Forgot, you're not a hugger."

Scoops laughs, throwing his arm over Pixamena and ruffling her hair. "Look at this! We're losing our sidekick to the big man, guys!"

Delta smiles, fixing her son's hair. "At least something good is coming out of this. Congrats Quickwit."

Jay sighs, raking a hand over his face. "Don't congratulate me. They forced me into this."

Scoops gapes. "Bro, are you serious? This is like the dream of all heroes!"

Jay angrily stalks away, back to the limo. He slams the door as he gets in, the rest of the supers following shortly after.

"Witty, c'mon, why are you upset?"

"Scoops, I've seen how you report on him. You know he's a loose cannon."

Scoops smiles nervously. "I've never said that."

"You never said otherwise, either. You put your mic down as soon as you have to say anything about Alphaman."

"Well, I, uh..."

Delta intervenes. "We've all noted Alphaman isn't as...careful as he should be, especially with villains. But he's a hero, one that's been around for decades. It's understandable to assume he's a little tired of the constant fight."

Pixiepuff yawns, laying in Pixamena's lap. "Witty, Delta is right. Maybe you can help him? He's probably a little isolated. He is the only S-class hero."

"The only S-class hero and an iconic super!" Scoops crows, "dude, being on his team is cool enough. You get to be his right hand man. You're going to be the top hero as long as that's true."

Jay grimaces. "I don't care about popularity contests."

Pixamena side-eyes Jay. "Didn't you want recognition as a superhero? This is the perfect opportunity, and it will distance you from that drama with Stygian."

"Well my priorities have changed, okay? I would've been better off as a no-name hero."

Scoops slumps in his seat dramatically. "I just can't understand why you're so upset. I became a hero because of Alphaman! Did he ever visit your school to talk about the hero junior program?"

"I didn't live in Houston, so no. We got the local heroes, and they just flew around showing off their powers. Oh, and complained about the lack of dental."

"They didn't get dental?!"

"Sidekicks don't get dental, either."

"Regardless," Pixamena interrupts, "you're a great sidekick, Quickwit. Once you prove that to Alphaman, everything will work out. Okay?"

"Yeah."

The limo comes to a stop. Jay sighs as he looks out from the window at the towering high of Network headquarters. However, as he steps out onto the pavement, Pixamena grabs his shoulder.

"Wait, hold on."

"Yeah?"

Pixamena glitters and suddenly, a large pink motorbike falls out of thin air, landing before them. "Let's skip."

"Wait, what?

"We've had a rough start to our day. We need a mental health break."

"We're just going to leave work?"

"Yeah, what are they going to do? Fire us?"

"Um, I guess not."

In Pixamena's hands, two pink cat-eared helmets appear. She offers the one with purple ears to Jay. "Let's go. C'mon, I know a spot that's open."

Jay stares at the helmet. He's a villain, why the fuck is he caring about skipping a day of work? "Okay, let's go."

"Allright!"

Scoops waves. "Alright, see you guys later."

Delta sighs, waving as she walks away. "I'm going home too. Bye y'all."

Jay puts the helmet on and gets onto the back on Pixamena's bike. He knows they look a little funny as a pair, but if he's learned anything from Stygian, it's that confidence is key. So as Pixamena's bike roars down the highway, leaving a trail of pink sparkles, he holds his head high.

Luckily, the streets are still fairly empty. They arrive at their destination relatively painlessly: Jay looks up at the sign, "The Proper Tea Garden?"

Pixamena sweeps her arms. In a flash, she's in an even more frilly outfit now, and even Jay isn't spared. His suit is replaced with a tuxedo paired with a white mask and a black cape. "Hey!"

Pixiepuff barks, tail wagging. "You look so good in that! Ugh, what a wasted opportunity. Pixie really dropped the ball when you were her sidekick, huh?"

"Pixamena, turn it back."

Pixamena pouts. "Really? But he's right, it fits you so well!"

Jay looks down at himself. It does fit him well, and from the looks of this place, he would fit right in. "Fine. but ask next time."

Pixamena smiles wearily. "Great. Now let's go, I need to soothe my trauma with sugar."