25 years after Houston was destroyed in a brutal supervillain attack, Jay Martin is accepted into the Texan Hero Network. Tasked with this sacred duty, he takes on the alter ego of Quickwit and vows to always protect Neo Houston.
Unfortunately, desp...
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How do you think a maniacal villain with a dark and brooding persona takes his cuppa joe? One might assume the man prefers a pitch black americano to match his dark soul. But then again, Stygian is so theatrical and extra, so perhaps Jay should've expected the absolutely ridiculous order the man is currently making.
"I'd like the vanilla ice cream latte please, with two extra shots of vanilla, extra whip, chocolate drizzle, caramel drizzle, cookie chunks, and sprinkles. Oh also, A strawberry refresher and a black coffee."
The cashier stares daggers at Gannet, but her mood quickly shifts as he places an extremely generous tip in the small jar next to the cash register. A few moments later, the villain grabs the neon pink drink and the sugary abomination before handing Jay his black coffee. Drinks in hand, they both move to a sunny booth in the corner.
The cafe is much more than a simple coffee shop, Jay notices. There are tons of Network enthusiasts milling about, buying Hero merch, watching Heroes on flatscreen TVs, and chatting up other superfans. The blond glances at the TV playing a clip of Pixamena throwing hands with Texas, apparently doing just fine without Quickwit...
He's pulled from his thoughts of his ex-partner by a nervous cough from Gannet. "Um, I hope it's okay that I invited a friend. Sorry she's late, she's such a ditz..."
Jay smiles. He's actually quite relieved that the man asked to bring a friend...He'd been a bit worried that this was a date. It wasn't right? Do people invite their friends on dates?
"It's no problem. Thanks for introducing me to such an interesting place...I haven't gotten to explore the city much since I arrived."
The dark-haired man smiles, sipping his monstrosity of a drink. "You're new? I've lived here since I was a teen. Let me know if you want some recommendations for H-town, I know some amazing restaurants."
The sidekick is about to ask about the best sushi spots when Gannet stands up, waving to someone. "Faye! Over here!"
Jay turns around to see who has Gannet so riled up. As he does, he spots an out-of-breath woman dressed in pastels, two balls of curly hair bobbing atop her head. She smiles, clutching a baby blue purse to her side as she skips over to Gannet. They embrace and Jay's eyes widen as he observes the woman up close. It's Pixamena!
The magical girl sits at the table, accepting her drink as she smiles at the dark-haired man. The sidekick gapes as Pixamena chats eagerly with the supervillain Stygian, neither aware of the other's secret double life.
Although, Jay had suspected this day would come sooner or later. Her disguise was always flimsy, and he knew he would figure her out eventually. Still, he can't help but chide her internally because, really, Pixamena? Trading twin-tails for space buns is not a proper disguise! Jay imagines for a moment running around the city like she does. Without his balaclava, people would recognize him, right? Changing his hair from a blond undercut to a glittery set pigtails wouldn't reasonably change that.
