Victor Parker hadn't expected anything unusual that morning as he returned to the office.

As CEO of Prometheus Pharmaceuticals, most of what he had to do was sign authorizations to move forward with medical research. However he was still a man of the people, or so he liked to believe. He still came into work and greeted his employees with a smile and a compliment.

He walked through the lobby.

"Good morning, Alice! Hope your son's hockey game went well… Steve! Love the tie!… Sarah, did you do something with your hair? Because it is looking magnifique!"

The elevator was almost full, so he stepped aside and let Mina from accounting get on first. There was always the next one.

Ten years ago he had been given the position as head of the company by his father, Howard Parker. At the time Victor was immediately dismissed by the press and his contemporaries as a good-for-nothing trust fund baby, so for the past decade he was determined to bring the company to the top of its game. Prove that he could earn such a position and title.

He stepped onto the next elevator and held the door open for others, continuing with his friendly pleasantries.

So far Victor had kept that promise to himself and the company. If he was going to keep it afloat he had to keep his employees happy and loyal. Let them know they're valued to him, not like his competitors such as Xanatos Industries.

He finally reached his floor and found his assistant at her desk.

"Morning, Hannah! How's your aunt? Did her surgery go well?"

"Yes, Mr. Parker. It was a success, but she's going to need to use a walker once she gets out of the hospital."

"Oh… Well, you just let me know if you need to take off early to help her out, okay?"

"Thank you, Mr. Parker."

Victor set his coat on its hook and closed the office door. On his desk his coffee was ready, as was the morning paper. Hannah was so reliable to have things all prepped and tidied for him.

He sat down in his chair and sipped his coffee. Two spoons of sugar, no cream. Just the way he liked it.

He turned his chair around and smiled proudly at his reflection in the window.

He adjusted his glasses. He was forty-one but still had a youthful face, with the bags under his eyes being the only exception. The results of all-nighters he pulled back in college. He stroked his long, voluminous black hair that he kept tied back.

He no longer looked like the spoiled brat many of his contemporaries accused him of being. They still called him a college dropout living on dear old daddy's credit card, and they technically weren't wrong about that. He still looked more the part of "responsible adult running a business."

He leaned back in his chair. As Dad's little golden boy things came so easy for him that he could want for nothing. Being his father's only son certainly helped.

He glanced over at a framed photo on his desk. It was of himself and his stepsisters celebrating little Angelica's college graduation.

Victor's eyes narrowed. He was the only one of father's actual children.

His younger stepsister Angelica had just finished college and was looking to become a certified accountant. Awfully humble work for the family name, but then again, they weren't really of the Parker family, were they?

His older stepsister Elizabeth had used the family's wealth and resources to establish a charity organization for the benefit of refugee families.

He glared at her smiling in the photo. Dad was always so proud he was of his dear, sweet stepdaughter Lizzie and promoting her charity events at every press conference he attended.

Lizzie wasn't so special. Victor knew she was only doing it for the tax write-off. She was no better than he was. At least he was his father's son.

He took another sip of his coffee and set the mug down. He needed to set aside the long-standing sibling rivalry and see what was in the news.

However when he reached for the newspaper the banner headline caused his heart to skip a beat. He unfolded it and his fears were confirmed.

A HELLHOUND IN MANHATTAN.

Victor nearly tore the newspaper's edge with his nails. It couldn't be the same creature. It had been nearly twenty years. It had to have been dead by now.

His intercom buzzed and momentarily snapped him out of his panic.

"Mr. Parker? Dr. Anton Sevarius is here."

"Oh! Right! Uh, send him in." He exhaled in relief. Something to distract him from that horrifying news story. He stood up from his chair and set the newspaper aside.

His assistant opened the door and in walked a familiar, albeit older face.

"Anton! Good to see you, buddy!" Victor declared.

"And look at you, old friend," Anton Sevarius teased. The two men hugged; they hadn't seen each other in years. "Already turning gray around the edges."

Victor chuckled. "Oh, what, this?" He stroked at the very prominent streak of silver at his left temple. "Well, taking care of dear old dad's company will do that to you."

The two men sat down, Sevarius in a guest chair as Victor resumed his place behind his desk.

"I'm so glad you agreed to work with us, Anton."

"Yes, well, I should be thanking you for the employment opportunity. Once you've been disowned by Xanatos Enterprises it leaves a bit of a black mark on your resumé."

"Oh, that's a shame." Victor stirred his coffee. "Well, that's David Xanatos' loss, I'm sure."

"So what have you been up to, Victor? I mean, besides all of this."

"Oh, not much. Not much." Victor coyly brushed back a tuft of hair with his finger. "We've just been making a killing in diet pill sales. I tell you, I have some of the best people over in marketing getting folks to think they need to get rid of cellulite."

Both men chuckled.

"But enough about me, Anton. What do you have to offer the Prometheus Pharmaceutical family?"

"As you are well aware, Victor, I specialize in genetics pertaining to nonhuman creatures. Gargoyles in particular." He handed Victor a thick dossier of all this research that he had managed to keep for himself after being let go by Xanatos.

"That you do." Victor smiled as he sifted through Sevarius's findings, especially of the photos of his live human-gargoyle specimens. "And what strides you've made in such an unexplored field." He leaned forward with his elbows on his desk. "Me and the boys at marketing have already been discussing how we can profit from this Gargoyle Menace everyone's been so panicked about. Like maybe, they spread a disease that turns you into a monster! Don't let that happen to you!"

Sevarius nodded. "A fine idea, Victor. And I suppose you wish for me to set something up so that can happen, yes?"

Victor shrugged. "If it's not too much trouble."

"Oh, if only. You see, my friend, the human-to-gargoyle transformation is far more complex than that. I'm sure you're well aware that I have succeeded multiple times, but it required the DNA of various animals. Now, if I were to have the genuine article at my disposal it could very well prove… much easier." He glanced knowingly at the half-folded newspaper on Victor's desk. "Or, at the very least, something just as frightful to the public…"

Victor knew what he was suggesting and hid the paper in his desk drawer. "Out of the question!"

Sevarius raised an eyebrow. "Why so tense, Victor?"

"I… I'm afraid of dogs."

Sevarius picked up and observed another framed photo on his Victor's desk. "This picture of you and your prize-winning Doberman pincher says otherwise." He set the frame back down. "Tell me, Victor. Why are you so frightened of this so-called hellhound?"

Victor scowled. "That's none of your concern, Anton."

"Why so secretive, old friend? You can trust me to keep quiet."

"I said drop it!"

"All right. All right."

Victor cleared his throat. "So what you're suggesting is that for your research you would need a live gargoyle specimen."

"Yes, that is correct."

Victor leaned back in his chair. "Not all pharmaceutical companies have the resources to also hire a security firm to keep such a creature in captivity." Victor grinned. "Fortunately, Dear Old Dad happens to have one on hand…"

Sevarious grinned back. "Wonderful news indeed, Victor."