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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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."
