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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Heroes are virtuous. They do what's right for the greater good, no matter how difficult. Or at least, that's what they're supposed to do. For too long, Jay has noticed cracks in the perfect masks of heroes. He sees their cruelty, the lack of care, and the ever-present, deep-seated narcissism. Of these Heroes though, Alphaman seems to be one of the worst ones. He's the most brash, the most bold, and the most uncaring of the fallout of his battles. So the fact that he's here to challenge Stygian is making Jay sweat bullets.
Stygian seems to be thinking the same thing. His shadows quickly demolish the poor picnic, erasing all evidence of their romantic rendezvous. Next up is Jay, who's quickly bundled up in constricting dark ribbons as the dome cracks like an egg. It's wrenched open by Alphaman's ominous, red-hued tendrils, only giving Stygian a few precious seconds to strike a villainous pose.
Finally, the dome dissolves, revealing the three heroes who've come to apprehend the S-Class: Pixamena, Scoops, and, of course, Alphaman. Stygian darts his eyes to all three of them rapidly like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Hey, uh—"
"I'm not listening to another one of your dumb-ass monologues, Gannet! Let him go!" Pixamena yells, fairy wings buzzing in anger.
"Hey! My monologues are top-tier!"
"They're really not! Not to mention, kidnapping my sidekick over and over is getting old. Be more original!"
"Hey, he's not your sidekick anymore, he's a Dawnbreaker. Remember?"
"Just give up, okay? You're outnumbered!"
Stygian darts his eyes to Alphaman nervously. Jay understands instantly the risks he's weighing. An S-class fighting a normal villain is one thing, but two S-classes duking it out? It would be another Calamity day. The only chance for Stygian to get out of this was to use Jay as a hostage and—
"I surrender!" Stygian yelps, holding his hands up as he releases Jay.
Shit!
"Look, I was just trying to ruffle some feathers. This is," Stygian looks down from the skyscraper. Down below a crowd has formed, phones pointed skyward to see the rare deployment of Alphaman. "This is a populated area. Let's not put innocent lives on the line."
Jay stumbles forward, shoved by Stygian's shadows and handed over to the heroes. He wants to scream out loud at what a mistake Stygian's making, but before he could even try, Alphaman is suddenly moving. He falls from the sky with raw power, landing in a crater of concrete on the roof. Jay falls back from the impact's shockwave, only saved from falling completely off the roof by Scoops swiftly coming to the rescue with a firm hand to Jay's back.
Stygian takes a step back, hands still up in a placating gesture. "You got what you wanted, okay? It's not a trick—"
Stygian gasps as Alphaman raises his hand and in an instant, ominous red-tinged shadows shoot forward in a wall of black. It fractures into shards, deadly sharp, and zooms straight for his head. It's only by the grace of his fast reflexes he avoids impalement, darting to the left, wings flexing just in time to shield himself from another attack.
