Chapter Text
Joshua wasn't extraordinary.
Apart from the strange incident with the coffin, his life was quite boring. A job, a monotone but stable relationship with Tiff, some nice holidays in the Alps and a fancy trip to Vegas were his thrillest experiences. And he was happy with that. The story with the coffin was a nice anecdote to tell in the dark but he hadn't any interest in another adventure.
When Tiff's best friend introduced Sebastian to him, the two got along really well really fast. Sebastian was a plumber, a little bit daydreamy and quite unaware of his surroundings.
While Tiff and Carla were talking about anything, Joshua and Sebastian grilled some steaks - at least Joshua grilled, his new buddy stood next to him, beer in one hand and chatting.
The next steaks got onto a plate, when Sebastian said: "Heard that you had a strange encounter, too. Carla was laughing about your coffin table story yesterday."
Joshua shrugged. "Yeah, she doesn't believe me. Neither of my friends do. What do you mean with too?"
Sebastian sipped on his bottle again. "I saw something, a few years ago. Do you remember the big fire in Gwydir Forest? Had seen there living mannequins and corpses. I was at this Magnus Institute for a statement-"
"Me too! Strange little lady who interviewed me."
"Yes, right?"
After the BBQ, they sat together at Joshuas small veranda, drinking beer and saying nothing. The girls were nowhere to be seen, but they could hear their laughter and whispering.
So Sebastian and Joshua were the only one, who saw the white van with the old label "Breekon & Hope".
Joshua sat up. "No way."
The two big men from the van approached Sebastian and him. Joshua raised his bottle.
"Good evening, boys. Want a cold one?"
One of them - Breekon? - grunted and took the two beers.
"Got an offer for you", said the other one, who Joshua decided was Hope.
"For me?"
"Both of you. Jobs in our company. Interest?"
The two men looked at each other. Only a few hours ago they had been talking about their recent unemployment. So Joshua shrugged. "Yeah, it don't look like I got anything else to do. Do I have to watch a coffin again? If yes, could I get noise canceling headphones?"
"No coffins this time. We have orders, they must be done. We get paid. Simple."
Sebastian raised his bottle. "Fine by me."
The four men toasted to each other.
And so began the glorious collaboration that drove the Avatars and the Magnus Institute in the best (or worst) possible way insane.