A/N: And now, the introduction of the ice queen. To anyone who gets rubbed the wrong way from first impressions, don't worry. You'll come to like her, I promise. And of course, first appearances of some of our familiar heroes...


Crime never stopped, save for the moment where everyone and everything had been temporarily erased during the events of the tournament.

But even then, all things considered, that was equivalent to a blink and you miss it moment. Albeit, a frightened and panicked split-second moment with an abundance of impulsive decisions made then and there - someone had even thought to throw a chair at a store window and rob it, apparently unaware that neither they or the items grabbed would last - which were thankfully cleaned up once all was restored. The city-like planet of Netfiss and its citizens appeared to breathe a collective sigh of relief, ever grateful for the kindness of their fellow universe's restoration wish. For a time, there even seemed to peace. Turns out, total annihilation without the promise of any sort of afterlife seemed to make people think twice on their entire outlook on life.

Unfortunately, said peace was not meant to last.

That much was anticipated by those who lived and worked in Metabala, a particular crime-ridden section of Netfiss; it was an impoverished region where the gangs thrived, and if there wasn't a dealing going on then there was a robbery, or vice versa. But, oddly enough, it was typical fool-hardy felons with normal blackmarket trade weapons. No mad scientists unleashing hellish creations, no zealot wannabe gods wreaking havoc, nothing out of the ordinary in terms of villainy.

It was the last place where the N.C.P.D, or the Netfiss City Police Department, could have some semblance of usefulness.

Ah ha. Didn't anticipate that, did you? Not to worry, not an uncommon reaction. These days the majority of citizens had all but forgotten of the regular law enforcement, ever since the formation of the spectacular spandex clad Pride Troopers. They were a welcomed change for the people too, for the cops at that time had been knee deep in corruption - many were paid off to look the other way when a prison breakout went down, or evidence was conveniently lost before a notorious gang leader could undergo a trial. They had settled in the comfortable routine of occasionally doing the bare minimum to stop crime, and the few good newbies that came along either eventually turned into a bad apple themselves or were gotten rid of permanently. But not the Pride Troopers, no, they were an incorruptible force of good moral that proudly stood for justice; the mere thought of being persuaded by means of bribery was unthinkable.

Naturally, and understandably so, the citizens of Universe 11 have favored them from the beginning.

For some long time members of the force, that suited them just fine. The shift in attention left the big name villains turning towards the colorful posse of super-powered freaks as opposed to the regular folks like themselves, which meant no more dreaded calls of mecha-machine attacking the city and which unfortunate souls at the station had to take turns flipping a coin to decide who was being sent out to essentially waste bullets and time. Those issues could now be referred to the team that could outpose an enthusiastic high school cheerleader squad, thank you very much.

The N.C.P.D, or the good guys in it at least, weren't here to be liked; they didn't take the job because of potential parade dedication or getting their faces branded on crappy cereal boxes to encourage kids to eat healthy. No, they were here to do some good, even if it was miniscule as compared to saving an entire city from some freak with a laser shooting three-headed pet.

Truth be told, it was a real shame about that shift in attention and trust from them to the Pride Troopers, because of the timing. Around that same time that just about everyone else had given up on them, one person didn't.

She was a tour de force, a mega tidal wave that intended to sweep away all dirt and corruption in the forgotten law enforcement system. And she did exactly that, right from the get go. Her reputation is a formidable one; young but fierce, a will of steel with wits to match. At first glance she looks like a typical prudish nightmare with a take-no-shit attitude when put in charge. A human woman with dark skin and black hair tied back tightly, resting bitch face, and doesn't look like someone who takes a joke well.

This is Captain Jin Tonic - and right now she's going to give the Pride Troopers hell.

"I don't care if the Metabola crimelords stand outside my station with signs asking you guys to prom - I'm not letting any of you on these grounds; you have just about 98% of this galaxy all to yourselves to flock about. For once in your egotistical lives, can you entrust my own men to handle this small section of one planet?" she proclaimed, standing upright with her hands flat on her desk.

Perhaps it should be reworded that, in the ten years since first joining the force and quickly rising in the ranks, she's always given them hell. But this day in particular appears to be an exceptionally unfriendly day. No one has forgotten the events of the tournament, but rather than look at it with merely a sense of gratefulness for how it turned out as a whole, she was keen on focusing on the smaller details - the sheer arrogance, the haughty foolishness, and even the regrettable harsh things spoken then.

Whatever reluctant trust she had previously given them was now being promptly drawn back. Never before had she been so territorial of the area surrounding her precinct, and so a conversation like this had never been an issue. But if there was one thing that this captain was notorious for, it was her unforgiving final decisions and her ability to damn well make sure they proceed as such.

Needless to say, this was going to be a delicate situation for the three Pride Troopers that had willingly decided to breach a conversation with her.

"It isn't that we don't trust you or the capabilities of your men." Toppo, leader of the Pride Troopers and soon to be God of Destruction, was the one that voluntarily stepped up to the plate in response. "That is far from it; in fact, without your efforts there would have never been such an extraordinary reformation in the universe's police force."

A little bit of ego pleasing can certainly go a long way. But even when doing so, the great leader spoke about it with such genuine high esteem like a proud father.

He continued; "Which is why I propose that we all join forces as a unified front for justice, we could accomplish great things by working together."

Standing to his immediate right was General Kahseral, who nodded along to his superior's words before adding in himself; "It doesn't make sense for all of us to be divided as two leagues - the Pride Troopers and the N.C.P.D. - when we all fight for the same causes. It's not a competition, wanting to do good and protecting law abiding citizens."

The expression on Jin's face could be best described as unreadable; while no longer as harsh as it was a moment ago, that wasn't to say she was necessarily convinced either. But hey, if at the very least she was listening and contemplating on the thought of it, that certainly progress. So was not being immediately kicked out of her office. Or not even being let through the door of the station in the first place, with her men aiming their weapons and awaiting her word to fire with the threat of all-out civil war. Not that the last mentioned one was a realistic risk… or was it?

Still, all issues set aside, it was a valid point. The whole heroic business wasn't meant to be taken as a literal business with rivaling factors. In fact, the two forces had worked together plenty of times beforehand. Albeit, begrudgingly. But nothing was ever extended beyond icy professionalism conducted on her end.

It was being considered. That was more than enough, as far as Toppo could tell. He'd had plenty of experience in that department of changing minds, getting people to open up. After all, despite her intimidating presence, as it stands Jin was hardly the most difficult challenge. ( See, at least you could converse with her and get more than one word responses. Unlike someone else. ) Feeling confident about the bridging of this alliance, Toppo decided to sell one final point.

"The citizens of Metabala would benefit especially, no longer having to wait on just your force."

"What?"

Uh oh.

Internally, he probably recognized that wrong choice of word seconds too late as it left his mouth. Just her force? From the arched brow and quizzical, darkening expression on her face - hell, even a blind man could probably read the room - that wasn't quite the right way to go about things with her.

"Just my force?" she repeated, deadpanned. Continuing, her voice slowly escalated. "As if to say that we're not good enough? That we're incapable of dealing with crime as you all do? Is that what you mean?"

From an outside perspective watching in from a safe distance, this was somewhat amusing because of the exaggerated height difference. The captain was a petite woman, who appeared even smaller when confronting the Team Leader who was attempting to handle her like a bomb as delicate as an eggshell. But as entertaining of a sight as this may appear for outsiders, those unfortunately trapped in the room couldn't quite agree on that notion.

"I mean, if you wanna deal with… oh I dunno, say, the mad scientist dude with a full-fledged army of super sized killer cyborgs with heat seeking missiles yourself then by all means. I personally think you can handle it by yourself."

This time another voice had piped in. This was the Speed Warrior, Dyspo, who was making one of his notorious sly remarks with his hands raised playfully in defense. With how fast Jin whipped her head around to glare at him, perhaps this was one of those opportunities to be grateful for said extraordinary speed abilities. Clearly, the humor was lost. Or never found to begin with. Even Toppo spared a small, disappointed glance at his colleague; as if to remind the hare that there was a warning conversation earlier about this - something along the lines of let me do the talking and Jin is not an easily humored person - but it seems none of those words were absorbed.

"Wouldn't you like to know what I'm capable of." she started, scowling deeply. A single step forward had been taken from her before Toppo intervened, a giant hand placed before her and stopping her in her tracks.

"Enough." he ordered, although Jin's furious glare towards Dyspo was unwavering. "This isn't what we came for, Captain."

Taking a step back and a moment to compose herself, Jin was now right back to the demeanor she originally wore the moment they first arrived; icy and very much unwelcoming, but her eyes aflame with finality. "I recognize the importance of your little proposal, and I'll take it into light consideration. But as it stands, as far I'm concerned, none of you are qualified to stand here and lecture me with this offer about teamwork after witnessing your performance in that tournament. Why don't you save it for someone who needs it, like that Grey character? Speaking of which, where is he? Off isolating himself off-worlds once more to polish that bruised ego of his?"

"Hey come on now!" Dyspo reacted visibly, on the immediate defense.

It takes balls to criticize those who fought their hardest during a multiverse tournament that was, quite literally, a life or death situation.

Then again, said pair of balls was also required on a task that required facing off against every single crimelord who previously got away with every offense with little to no consequence. Not to mention, at the cost of losing various friends and being constantly threatened with her life should these prosecuted individuals ever manage to break free from prison. (If, she would always retort dryly with mocking eyes towards them. If you ever get out.)

"Jiren has been working harder than anyone I know to make amends. He is immensely apologetic about how he acted beforehand, and you have no right to criticize him so harshly." Toppo also came to the immediate defense of his friend, especially since he obviously couldn't defend himself at the moment. She was right about one thing though. Jiren was indeed offworlds, although it was for a far different reason than her accusation.

"Regardless," Jin continued, more or less outright ignoring what he'd just said. "You can forget about any early pre-orders for additional spandex suits to join this little cheer squad of yours."

"Dammit. Why does everyone always go for the uniforms?" Kahseral mused aloud, shaking his head in dismay. It wasn't like he was wrong to wonder about that; it seemed like the quickest jabs from villainous fiends were always directed towards their appearances, much like childish bullies would.

This time, she shot a quick glare back at him. It lasted a second or so, before turning her attention towards all three of them as she directed; "I'll think on your words, but no promises. Now get the hell out of my office. Now."

. . .


The station itself was bustling with activities; from escorting the daily thugs and punks into temporary cells, said individuals yelling angrily and making empty threats the entire way, to the shuffling of random case files and paperwork. The scene looked like something out of a stereotypical crime movie, with the majority of these cops running off of half-empty cups of coffee and extinguished cigarettes. Besides just being busy, it took a lot of self-restraint for these men not to gape awkwardly at the presence of three notorious Pride Troopers being right here at their so-called humble second home.

Some idolized them, as normal citizens would. But these guys were sensible about their environment, and knew better than to gush openly about them at the risk of being overheard by their boss. Others had a look that was less welcoming, probably having the same outlook and assumptions as their captain as well that they were here to steal their territory. Most attempted to maintain a distraction by focusing on their work, trying to ignore the thoughts about the likelihood that somehow, somehow whatever just went down in that office was inevitably going to come back at them.

It was a chaotic vibe, to say the least.

The three men were less than ten feet away from the door they'd just exited, when Dyspo had decided to open his mouth once more - purposely loud, as if hopeful she'd hear.

"What the hell's her problem?" the hare inquired angrily, arms crossed. His ears were drooping ever so slightly, never a fan of being blatantly yelled at nor watching his teammates more or less get roasted without any repercussions whatsoever. It was especially infuriating to see that done to his most revered leader. Yet Toppo appeared unbothered, shrugging it off with a strangely sympathetic outlook.

"Dyspo, you know why." he replied in a low, soft voice. The tone seemed to change from tense frustration to melancholy.

There was a brief pause, and an aggravated sigh from the younger trooper. "Yeah, I know. I know. But it's been so long…"

That sentence trailed off, never finishing itself. It was preferable this way, avoiding a painful subject such as that.

"As far as she's concerned, she'll only continue to see us as responsible." Kahseral concluded, maintaining a low voice unlike his friend. After all, the odds were even if she didn't personally hear this conversation herself, someone was bound to snitch directly to her thereafter. And Belmod knows, she wouldn't be pleased to be told that the Pride Troopers were gossiping about her. "Understandable. It's unresolved grief and… she's not entirely wrong to do so."

Both Toppo and Dyspo nodded in agreement. After that, nothing more was said on the subject.

It seems that there was nothing more that could be said to begin with.

"Wait!"

Luckily, they weren't anywhere near the door when the distinctive voice called out from behind. Somewhat astonished, they took perfect care not to give that away on their expressions as they all turned around to see the captain storming down after them. She looked pissed, but then again, that was her everyday demeanor. But if the team members had the gift of shared telepathy, they probably would've realized all three had the exact same thought then and there; Now what?

Jin stopped a few feet before them, beside herself with her arms crossed. Closing her eyes, she let out a reluctant sigh like a kid that was being forced to get along with her schoolmates after being lectured by her parents. Once opening them, that violet pair of eyes had a different emotion on them.

"You want to consider some form of a… what was it, team-up? Let's put it to the test." In her hand she purposely dangled a set of keys, one of which was for her car. "I just got word about a body being found along the Metabala border - so it's fair game for both of us, fifty fifty odd chances one of us would've found it first anyways. It's not worth bickering over land properties like bitter medieval lords."

With that said, she moved briskly past them and started ahead by a few paces.

Stopping when she realized they weren't following immediately, she glanced back. "Well, are you coming or what? This is your one chance to prove me otherwise. Besides -"

Turning back, they couldn't see the look her disturbed look of worry written all over her features.

"- Not only is it not our first incident, we're starting to think this might have something to do with you guys too."

. . .