To Me, My Ex Force

Baron did not intend the party to work alone. As he described the new order, a huge figure became visible behind the desk, as if the room had been hiding him in plain sight. He wore rough black clothing, a simple mask with eye holes, and the stillness of someone built to be noticed only when it was too late. Baron introduced him as Zeus Beefcake. Powerful. Loyal. Second in command. For those who knew the older stories, Zeus carried the weight of a previous era. He was not simply a guard or a mascot of Baron's new institution. He was a living reminder that New VQU was willing to use old names, old weapons, and old unfinished histories if they could serve the next mission. Then the chair turned. The figure seated there was pale, drained, and hollowed out: Yebadiah Grymaye the Tenth, better known as Ex. A former Centrum figure. A lich-remnant with the worst of that power stripped away. He looked like someone who had survived his own ambition and been left with just enough force to matter. Ash had reason not to like him. That tension stayed in the room. Baron was not offering the party a clean new beginning. He was offering them an organized future built from compromised survivors, damaged institutions, and dangerous tools that had not disappeared just because the old age ended. Ex raised his hands. A trace of void-charged power moved between them. Then he gave the group its name. To me, my Ex Force. The joke landed. The act ended. The next era of the campaign had its banner.