A/N: Full disclosure, the last part of this interlude is massively off-canon timeline-wise, but I wrote it before I found that out, and since I already foreshadowed it in Arc 1 and Interlude , I decided to keep it.

Also, skip the part immediately after Lung's if you're sensitive to colorful language.

Stasis 2.V

Max Anders was a busy man. He ran a nationally recognized pharmaceutical manufacturer and distribution empire, was a patron of the arts, a philanthropist, and one of the top campaign contributors for Mayor Christner and Governor Peters. Much of his wealth and power was handed down to him from his father, but he had made a name for himself as a cunning and masterful CEO, and thus earned his reputation.

Kaiser was a busy man. He ran a nationally recognized gathering of the superior race, a veritable Empire of the pure, whose goal was to improve humanity by cutting out its cancers; he was a patron of the movement throughout the world; He advocated for freedoms such as recreational use and urban revival projects; and he was supported by both locals and interests abroad. Much of his influence and power had its origins in his father's work, but he had made a name for himself as a cunning and masterful leader of men, and thus earned his reputation.

Max made a point to keep on top of any situation; if a shipment was damaged, their reputation of excellence would be tarnished; if an employee was smuggling, it would be disastrous for PR.

Kaiser made a point to keep on top of any situation; if someone defeated his fellow capes, it would tarnish their reputation, and they would have to retaliate; if other gangs moved into his territory, it would be bad for PR.

Kaiser watched the press conference with interest. It wasn't every day you got advance notice of a new enemy, after all, even if it was one of the Wards. Half the Wards were independents for a time, determined to make fools of themselves before coming to heel. Rune had been much the same, but she had come into the fold in time.

The boy was young, though. Unexpectedly so. Brad would have referred to him as a pup; he couldn't be more than ten. He frowned when the boy's 'name' was announced; a pity. He was of the proper race, but his name stank of chink sympathy. Indeed, a pity; those less patient among his allies would not like this at all; he would have to reinforce the fact that they were not to seriously harm the brats.

After all, they were still too weak to drive off the Protectorate, especially since Purity had left.

Purity had not been his first wife, but she had been a suitable one; they had been powerful together, and had had a girl. He'd had hopes that little Aster could one day rule when he had gone, a hope he had long lost with his disappointment of a son, but Purity had taken her, and while getting her back would be trivial for a man of Max's influence, he honestly didn't need a baby to deal with right now. Theo was bad enough.

Kaiser noted that they made no mention of his actual powers, but picked up on the fact that the boy was implied to be fairly powerful. His eyebrows rose as the boy demonstrated the technology he used to compensate for muteness, and resolved to see if he could acquire a copy through his moles in the PRT, or perhaps via Medhall. Cricket would get a decent bit of use out of such a device with far less hassle than the larynx she used now; it would be a good motivator for her.

He sat through the rest of the press conference, making note of the answers to some of the less inane questions, then stood. He had a meeting to call.

-Shangri-La-

Lung was not a happy man. The Wards had patrolled through his territory today, and captured a few of his men. He was not angry about the men; they had been fools, brazenly destroying the property of those who had paid protection money already. They should count themselves lucky they had been caught.

Nor was he angry about the Ward intrusion. They had jobs just as he did, and they were but children who knew no better. As long as they did not challenge him, they were ignored. He was not angry about the new Ward; the boy was a child, and no threat to him. Nobody was.

No, he was angry because of Purity.

The woman had been challenging his gang, raiding his stockpiles and injuring his men. Lee had engaged her on more than one occasion, but she was too fast to escape when he showed up. As of yet, she had not directly challenged him. This was as it should be; regardless, she had gained his attentions, and would soon feel his wrath.

This was certain, for he was Lung.

He would wait for her next insult, and respond in kind when it came. He would pay her back tenfold for her impertinence, but leave her alive, as an example. Fear would keep others from challenging him, as it had in the past.

To create fear, one must leave others to tell the tale, and if the one telling the tale was the one who had been made an example, all the better, for they would have firsthand accounts of the sheer terror he inspired. Yes, Purity would be made an example, to be taken back to her Empire.

Lung relaxed into his armchair, dreaming dreams of fire and terror.

-Shangri-La-

Skidmark yelled at his minion, "You think I give a flying, backward shitfuck what the puckersucking, cock-tailed colostomy-screwers up at the Penis- Receiving- Trannywhores added to their little harem of pedobaiting, pus-ridden, stinkfingered, clitflicking cunt-spawn? Get back out there and make some sales!"

-Shangri-La-

Brian was on edge. He'd received an invitation to another job, and by the sound of it, this might be a more permanent employment opportunity. What made him suspicious, though, was the last line on the card he'd found in the P.O. box.

'Don't insult her dogs.'

He wasn't sure what to make of it, but in the end, he needed the money. Aisha was acting up again, disappearing for a day or two at a time from his father's house, and pretty soon, it would be his mother's six months with her. He needed an apartment by then, so he could start filing the starting paperwork for custody rights, and being employed meant he could hopefully do just that. Sure, he would have to find a way to make it legitimate income, but that wasn't something he'd need to start.

He walked into the area the note said to meet at, turning on a trickle of darkness to leak from his body on all sides. He'd taken pictures of it, and the effect was intimidating. He'd gone online to find good names for darkness users, but a lot were taken. Shadow Stalker would have been perfect, even. He eventually settled on his new name, Grue, a creature that scuttled in the depths of shadows. It wasn't a great fit, but it worked.

A few minutes of waiting later, he saw a very strange sight. A guy in a full renaissance fair outfit walked into the alley intersection, his mask covering the top half of his face, his shirt poofing out around a thin frame. Grue tensed a bit, then relaxed. This guy was probably –

"Hey, tall, dark, and handsome. You here for the meeting?"

-Never mind. No way this guy called the meeting. "Yeah, you have any idea what this is about?"

"Nope. Nice voice, by the way. Spooky." He emphasized this with sarcastic hand wiggling.

He hadn't gotten a chance to record his voice like this yet – was it really that strange-sounding? Maybe he could use that, up the scare factor to keep people from fighting.

"Thanks."

They settled into an awkward silence. A few minutes later, they tensed up as the ground started shaking a bit. They stood their ground, though; Grue was not going to run until he was sure this was a setup, and the other boy decided to lean casually against an alley wall. Moments later, a giant monster stampeded into the alley, two smaller ones close behind. They looked somewhat reptilian, or maybe like those anteater-looking armadillo things, but amped to immense size, had raw meat glued to them, and had terrifyingly large and sharp teeth. Easily the scariest looking animals he had ever seen, that was sure. A heavyset girl sat on the thing's shoulders, a cheap dog mask on her face.

'Don't insult her dogs.'

Those things were dogs? Brian mentally checked his disbelief. Powers were weird sometimes, there was a guy who turned into a dragon in town. Monster pangolin-looking dogs weren't average, but they weren't exactly out of place. "Nice dogs," he said, hoping that was generic enough to fit the bill.

The girl looked his way, staring intently at him, before finally saying, "They're mine."

The guy spoke up. "What breed are they? Dinosaur? Alien? Poodle?"

She actually growled, her dog's ears flattening. Grue moved to shut him up before he got himself hurt, but before he could, a phone began to ring, and everyone froze, then began to look around. The quick search found it taped to a wall down one of the alleys, a cheap flip model. He flipped it open and put it on speaker. "Hello?"

"Hello. I am a liaison to the person who has called you here, who wishes to remain anonymous. They have called you three here today to offer you a job, and more importantly, to form a team. Should you all choose to accept, my employer is willing to pay you a monthly retainer of 2000 dollars, offer your group a base of operations, and give you access to their many contacts and resources. They are also willing to take requests on other accommodations, within reason. I'll stay on the line to answer questions, but feel free to talk about this among yourselves."

That was a lot to take in at once. He muted the phone. Where to start? Names. "Okay, I'm Grue. What're your names?"

"Bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Bitch."

"Oh, right." Whatever you say, then.

"I go by Regent."

"Okay, next we should talk powers. I generate this stuff." He demonstrated with a brief flood of the mist. "It blocks light and sound, but I can see through it."

"I make dogs bigger, stronger." Truly, a woman of few words.

"I do this," Regent said, and with a gesture, Grue's arm twitched violently. That was not pleasant, not one bit. He took a moment to stop himself from the urge to yell at Regent for not warning him. So, they had cover, muscle, movement, and a guy who could give people spasms and cramps to slow them down. Personality-wise, not the best match, but he had to get that apartment, soon, and 2k a month would cover that no problem. This was going to be a pain, but he had to do it for Aisha's sake. He spoke.

"Okay, I can kind of see some synergy with our powers. We could make this work. You guys game?"

Regent replied with a shrug and a nod, while Bitch took a minute to think. Finally, she said gruffly, "Fine. I'll try it. Better than the street."

Grue turned the phone off mute. "Okay, we're willing to work together. Let's talk about this job."