as Kwai was nothing more than entertainment for the gods of the Wondrous Lands in the form of a never-ending battle against the Demon Fox. The Grey Lady offered Kwai another chance to live and marry the Dog God, but Kwai refused, deciding that she would no longer allow those gods to control her existence - even if it meant her death. The Grey Lady, impressed with her spirit allowed her to return, with the warning that her father would not stop until he had his revenge. The Beginning of the end After returning to Earth, the gang barged into Utopia Park uninvited. Their presence caused a riot. Wise Son was responsible for stopping it, as chronicled in the Milestone crossover event Long Hot Summer. Tech-9 persuaded him to use the Utopia Park PA system to appeal for an end to the violence. Wise did so eloquently, and the rioters backed down. After this, they had a final battle with the Demon Fox. They found out that she dug up Tech-Nine's body and gave his essence to Masquerade. This enabled him to impersonate Tech so well that he actually believed he was him, and to wield his powers. The Demon Fox and Masquerade, who was in thrall to the Fox, fought the Syndicate tooth and nail. During the fighting, the Fox revealed that Brickhouse was pregnant with Third's baby, and apparently caused her to miscarry. Kwai rose up and destroyed the Fox, at the cost of her own life. Kwai didn't perish - she reverted to 9 year-old Nina Lam, but seemingly with Kwai's memories. The Syndicate now knew that Masquerade was born female, and confronted him for his deception. He proclaimed that under his leadership they became more efficient than ever before, and that with him, they could achieve their true potential as a team. He convinced none of them and left the team in disgrace. Wise Son disagreed with his methods, but admitted that he was right and that they "never lived up to the hype". He states that they all kept too many secrets from each other and that they fought each other more than their enemies. The team decided they were tired of the pain that they had endured and the constant violence around them and disbanded. A few days later, while recounting the events of the past ordeal to Rob Chaplik, Dogg appeared before Wise