Justin was a hard sell until all his demands were met; though he wasn't unreasonable. He and Brian agreed to spend the first two months in Hollywood for pre-production stuff, including choosing the new Rage. After that, Justin and Michael could contribute their parts from home. Justin would fly back only when really necessary. They would miss Thanksgiving with the family but they were guaranteed to be back home for Christmas.

As for Justin's salary, his sign up fee went directly to the Vic Grassi Home. Justin decided on 20% of the profits off the top and full artistic control, including final approval over the actors.

Brian rented a three-bedroom condo for them. Claire agreed to come out for the first month and Debbie the other so they could look after Briana. Michael couldn't stay away from the store for that long so he planned to fly back and forth and stay with them when he was in town. Brian kept an eye on Kinnetik via his laptop and through Perspective. He and Gus emailed and IM'd all the time and Gus was coming out for Thanksgiving. Brian made a conscious decision to include Gus in as much as he could.

It was their first day at the studio. Brett wanted to choose Rage first. Rage would set the tone for all the other characters. Get this right and everything else should fall into place. Brian and Justin pulled up into a parking space earmarked for Justin. Justin was very calm and very quiet. He had been since he woke up that morning. Justin had set out all of Brian's clothes for the day. He insisted that Brian wear his black silk sleeveless shirt, black jeans that were tight and worn in just the right spots and his black boots. Justin asked Brian not to shave and Justin applied Brian's favorite cologne to all Brian's pulse points that drove Justin wild. Justin dressed like he always did in jeans with a pale blue t-shirt. He looked so much like that kid that went to Hollywood seven years prior in hopes of being a 'staah.' And that's just how Justin wanted to appear.

Brian went along with it. He knew something was brewing in the blond's brain. He also knew enough not to question him. If Justin needed Brian to look like Rage, then Brian would be Rage.

"Brian, do me a big favor?"

"Anything, Sunshine."

"I need you to be the arrogant stud of Liberty again."

"What? Are you out of your mind?"

"No, listen to me. Rage was based on that man. It was his arrogance, his confidence knowing that whatever he touched turned to gold, his anger made Rage what he is."

"Justin, I was never that man. You created him."

"No, Brian, you were him, are him, still in many ways. Your instincts about business, about what you know the public wants to see. How you convince even your most stubborn client that your ad is what he needs. That's Rage. And your innate sense of right and wrong."

"I was wrong most of the time, Justin. Wrong about the things that really counted."

"No, you weren't. You made choices based on what you thought was best for me and somehow we made them right. Please, Brian, I need you to be Rage. I need the real Rage so we can choose the actor that closely resembles him. I need to make them see Rage. It's not so much the physical look as it is attitude. It's the scowl in your eyes when you know someone's trying to bullshit you. It's how you arch your eyebrow when you can't believe just how much someone's being an asshole. It's your look of disinterest when you know that every man and woman you pass wants you so bad and I know you only want me. No one can duplicate you but I need that frame of reference."

Brian stared into Justin's eyes. This was the man Brian fell in love with. Strong, smart, stubborn, confident in his own accomplishments and in his artistic abilities. His little stalker. This was JT, Rage's JT.

Brian nodded. "You got it, Sunshine."

"Uh, Bri..."

"I know. You won't hear the nickname, Sunshine, until we're safely alone and outta here. Promise me you'll have the antidote to Rage later. I've gotten used to not being him, if you know what I mean."

"I promise. Besides, I think the Squirt has your antidote."

"Okay then, it's show time!"

Justin walked into Brett's outer office with Brian just behind. Nothing changed all that much over the years. It just got more Hollywoodie. Justin announced himself to the receptionist who smiled sweetly at Justin but began to drool over Brian. When her attention was focused on the phone, Justin quickly smiled at Brian. So far, it was working. Brian gave Justin a wink then quickly adopted Rage's glare when the receptionist spoke to them.

"Mr. Taylor and, um, friend, Brett will be here in a second. Can I offer you a refreshment? Coffee, tea, juice?" 'Or me,' the receptionist was thinking as she took in Brian. Her mouth was practically watering as her eyes skimmed the front of his jeans.

"Justin! And Brian! Right on time." Brett flew into the outer office to greet Justin. He was a little taken aback when he saw Brian. He had hoped to be able to sweet talk Justin regarding the actor to play Rage. Conner James had made a big name for himself and Brett still had hopes that he would be Rage. With Brian there, Brett was having second thoughts. Even with seven years on him Brian was still gorgeous. Slim, fit, muscles in the right places, not a wrinkle or gray hair to be found. And his eyes could still mesmerize. This was not going to be easy.

"Let's go in and meet everyone. Couldn't Michael come out?" Brett knew Michael would go along with practically anything.

"He'll be here in a couple of weeks," Justin said innocently. Justin noticed Brett's reaction to Brian. Justin had asked Michael to trust him regarding the actor for Rage. He and Michael talked at great length about it and they both agreed on who was their first choice.

As Brett was introducing Justin to his staff, Brian wandered about. The room was large, not unlike the artist's room at Kinnetik except here it seemed rather sterile. When it came to introducing Brian, Rage needed no introduction. Every artist in the place pulled out a sketch pad or piece of paper, anything that they could use to sketch the real Rage. Brian was politely bored. He knew when he was being drawn and he subtly posed as he did that first time for Justin. Just then a cute young man holding a costume walked in.

"Brett, I've made the modifications on the costume. What do you think?" The kid was holding out the costume, hoping for Brett's approval. Instead Brian snatched it out of the kid's hand and held it up against his own body. He snorted then grumbled something about it being too short and too wide. And that Rage wouldn't be caught dead in something cheap like that. Brian then sat on the closest desk and pulled the kid toward him. He gave the kid his best cruising once over and felt the boy begin to tremble. Brian smirked as he heard the boy inhale Brian's cologne.

"Maybe you should keep working on the costume," Brian whispered next to his ear as he gently caressed the boy's arm. The boy blushed, nodded and took back the costume, informing Brett that he was going to work on the costume a bit more. Brian sucked his lips into his mouth and feigned an innocent shrug. Then as quick as you could say 'Rage is here,' he was back in all his arrogant glory.

The tour continued, preliminary story boards discussed and some suggestions for the supporting characters were made. Brett had lunch brought in and Brian made a show of nibbling on fruit. Every morsel, every tidbit that passed Brian's lips was envied by everyone in the room. At one point even Justin fell under Brian's spell until Brian handed Justin a bottle of water distracting him enough to get back to the job at hand.

"Brett! I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic was murder, you know how that is." Conner buzzed into the room, waving his arms excitedly and began to put on his own show.

"Oh shit," Justin murmured. Brian knew that Justin had been with Conner when he was in L.A. the first time. This was not going to be pretty. Brian clenched his jaw and made a fist with one hand. Justin was sure that Brian was going to deck Conner.

"Who is this?" Brian stepped up closer into Conner's space.

"This is Conner James, the man who would be Rage." Brett was startled that Brian actually said something out loud.

"A bit old to play Rage. Don't you think? Too short too," Brian huffed then went to fondle a strawberry. He caught Justin's eye. Justin was trying so hard not to laugh that his face was turning red. Conner stormed out of the room with Brett closely on his heels.

"Something I said?" Brian murmured as he dipped the strawberry in some whipped cream, took a bite then slowly trailed his tongue over his lips. Several men and women left the room at the point claiming to need the restroom.

"Oh, that's just great. Fucking great! He quit the project. Do you know how long I've been pursuing him? Months and in two seconds this, this..." Brett pointed at Brian, ranting as he marched back in. Justin stepped up ready to defend his husband.

"Watch it, Brett," Justin warned.

Brett did a double take and stared at Justin. Gone was the sweet wide-eyed kid. He was replaced by Justin Taylor, world renowned artist that could buy Brett twice over. Then it hit Brett. He was set up and he fell for it. He thought he could pull the wool over Justin's eyes. Nothing had prepared him for this.

"Okay, Justin, so who do you have in mind for Rage?"

Later on Brian and Justin drove away from the studio. They were about halfway back to the condo when Brian pulled over and parked the car.

"Why are we stopping, Brian?" Justin turned in his seat to face Brian. Brian, still in Rage mode, cruised his husband. The look that Brian gave Justin never failed to turn Justin into a pile of goo.

"Come here," Brian whispered in a sultry voice that reminded Justin of warmed brandy. Justin unbuckled his seat belt and scooted closer to Brian. Brian cupped his husband's face and looked deep into the blue eyes. "You are a fucking genius," Brian exclaimed then followed that with a toe curling kiss. Justin felt his blush creep up from his chest to the tips of his ears.

"Hurry, Brian. Take me back to the condo, take me to bed," Justin breathed out, full of need. Brian shoved Justin back to his seat, grabbed the seat belt to buckle him in then pulled out into traffic.

They made it back to the condo in record time, rushed through the front door and made a beeline for their bedroom, slamming the door behind them.

Claire and Briana were quietly watching Sesame Street. Claire barely got out a, "Hi, how did it go?" before she heard their door shut. "I guess that means it all went well." Bree looked up at her Grandma and gurgled. "I think you're right Briana, Big Bird is a lot more interesting. Let's give your daddies some time alone." Claire turned up the sound a bit and she and the Squirt watched the tall yellow bird give advice about families.

*****

The next day the process of finding the new Rage began in earnest. There were several fairly well known actors that were interested so they had been invited to a meeting and a possible reading. There were four scheduled for the first day. None of them were the person that Justin actually wanted. He sat through the meetings with each actor afterwards pointing out the obvious flaws to Brett and the team. They generally agreed with Justin.

When they finished up at the end of the day, Justin pulled Brett aside. "I have someone I'd like considered for the role of Rage," Justin explained. "I was wondering if you could have him come in for a reading."

"And who might this be?" Brett asked wondering who the hell Taylor might be interested in. It would probably turn out to be a disaster. Taylor knew nothing about Hollywood and how it worked. Brett had been crazy to sign all those documents giving so much control to this artist.

"I want Paul Thomas."

"Thomas? He hasn't done anything notable for years," Brett sneered.

'Neither have you,' Justin was thinking but he bit his tongue and kept that to himself. "He has had a down period in his career since Metropolis ended," Justin admitted.

"He made a couple of awful films and then disappeared from sight."

"Maybe he's ready to make a comeback."

"What's so great about him?" Brett asked. Thomas was good looking but nothing special as far as he was concerned.

"He has everything we need in Rage. He's tall, slim, talented and has the most amazing eyes. They're not the same color as Rage's in real life, but they have the same magnetic quality."

"So this is all about eyes?" Brett scoffed.

"Not only that," Justin defended his choice. "He gives me a Rage vibe."

"How can you know that? You're just basing this on the fact that he already played a superhero."

"That may have started me thinking about him. I need to see him and have him read. I have to know if he can carry off the Rage attitude."

"Well, quite frankly, I don't think he can."

Justin sighed. He hated these battles of will, but he wasn't prepared to give up. "Just arrange the meeting and then we can see for ourselves."

"How do you know he'll even come to a meeting?"

"I don't! Make the fucking call and we'll all find out."

Justin turned and stomped out to the car. He needed some time with Brian before he screamed out loud. It felt like his head was about to explode.

By the time Justin got back to the condo, he had calmed down somewhat. He walked in to find Brian and Bree cooking in the kitchen. Bree was sitting in her car seat watching her father putter around in the kitchen.

Justin smiled at the sight. "What are you making?"

"Steak and baked potatoes and formula," Brian replied with a smirk.

"Yum, my favorites."

"I bet," Brian laughed. "How was your day?"

"Much better now that I'm here."

"So, it didn't go well?"

Justin shook his head. "All the actors we saw today were hopeless as far as being Rage. None of them bore even a faint resemblance to you."

Brian grinned. "Maybe I should try out for the part," he joked.

"You were a thousand times better than anything we saw today."

"Just a thousand?"

"Okay, a billion times better."

"I was shooting for a trillion."

Justin came over and put his arms around Brian's neck. "You know you're the only Rage for me."

"See that you keep it that way," Brian said before he captured Justin's lips in a long and sensuous kiss.

When they broke apart, Bree was staring at them and gurgling happily.

"I think Squirt just had her first sex education lesson," Justin chuckled.

"If she can kiss half as good as you, I'm going to have to invest in a shotgun to keep the boys away."

"I don't think you have to worry about that for a day or two."

"I'm not so sure," Brian said with a smirk. "Patrick was showing a lot of interest before we left for California, and she's not such a bad kisser already," Brian added as he kissed his daughter's cheek.

"I hate to point this out to you, but it's you doing the kissing. She's merely receiving."

"Does that mean she'll be a bottom?"

"Ewwwwww, Brian, that is gross."

Brian stuck his tongue in his cheek and smirked at his partner.

"Can we change the subject, please?" Justin asked as he finished mixing up the formula that Brian had started. "It's almost time to feed her.

"Did Thomas show up for an audition?" Brian asked. He knew that was who Michael and Justin wanted to play Rage.

Justin shook his head. "I took the bull by the horns and told Brett to call him. I hope he'll be there tomorrow."

"How do you know he isn't fat and bald? Nobody's seen him for a few years."

"I think he had a body like yours. You're not fat and bald."

"Don't even put me in the same sentence with those two words," Brian grimaced.

Justin laughed. "Like you'd ever let that happen."

"Sometimes people don't have any choice, but I'd fight it every inch of the way.

"Well, hopefully I'll find out what Paul Thomas looks like tomorrow afternoon." He took the bottle of formula and stuck it in the microwave for a minute before starting to feed Bree.

Brian watched him thoughtfully. He hoped that Justin wasn't going to be disappointed.

*****

"He's here," Brett whispered as he came into the audition room.

"Who?" Justin asked although his heart had soared at Brett's words. He knew who he hoped it would be.

"Paul Thomas."

Justin let out a soft sigh. "How does he look?"

"Not bad," Brett replied.

Justin hoped Brett was using that phrase in the way that Brian did. "When can we see him?"

"We've got one more person first."

"Shit!" Justin reacted. He didn't want to see anybody else. He knew who he wanted. "Let's get it over with."

It took far longer than Justin thought it should for the interview team to reject the next candidate for Rage. Finally Brett went to the door and called in Paul. Justin held his breath waiting to see what would come through the portal. He wasn't disappointed.

Paul looked older, but it had only added to his good looks much as age had done with Brian. Justin was immediately struck by the somewhat timid way Paul entered the room. That wasn't what he wanted from the person who would play Rage.

"Have a seat," Brett said. He then introduced the team ending with Justin whom he identified as the creator of Rage.

"Me and my partner, Michael Novotny," Justin corrected Brett. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Thomas."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure why I'm here."

"We're interested in you possibly playing Rage," Justin said. He had decided to be up front.

"Isn't he the gay superhero?" Paul asked although he knew perfectly well all about the Rage project.

"Yes," Justin said.

"And you think I'm gay?"

"No, I think you're an actor, and you have the right look."

"I do? And what look is that?" Paul asked.

Justin sighed. If this guy was as homophobic as he sounded, then the interview was over. There was no point in trying to convince him to take the part. He would do a lousy job if he wasn't okay with the whole idea.

"You're lean, strong, a man of few words, and according to Justin you have eyes that are mesmerizing just like the real Rage," Brett supplied when Justin didn't say anything.

Justin glared at Brett, then he turned to Paul. "If you're not okay with the whole gay thing, then there is no point in going any further with the interview." Justin stood up prepared to go home in defeat.

"Wait," Paul said. "I am interested."

"You sure didn't sound like it a few minutes ago," Justin said sitting down again.

"I was trying to get the lay of the land. I wondered if someone had pushed you into auditioning me, when you really didn't want to," Paul explained.

"Why would you think that?"

"I have some friends who want me to act again. Despite what the popular consensus is, I'm not broke and on drugs. I just haven't found anything to interest me, since the crap movies I made a few years ago. I refuse to do that again."

"We have a really good script," Justin said. "Would you like to read it?"

"You know," Paul said thoughtfully. "I think I would. Oh, and I'm not gay, but I'm not worried about playing gay as long as I don't have to swish." He laughed, gently trying to show the good humor in his words.

"Believe me, Rage doesn't swish," Justin said.

"I can vouch for that," Brett added.

"Is there actually a real Rage?" Paul asked.

"Would you like to meet the man he's based on?" Justin suggested.

"Let me take the script home and read it. If I like it, I'll give you a call, and then I'd like to meet the man himself."

Justin smiled. "I think he'd like to meet you too."