Bob sensed them coming just before they reached the outer perimeter of the grounds,and then the wind shifted and he could smell them;god,did they reek.And the strangest thing of all was Bob claimed no one else could smell them.

How could anyone not notice that stench?

Bob,of course,wanted to go first.He walked out into the back garden,intending to cut them off at the pass,as it were.

The impossibly high (twenty feet if it was an inch) redwood fence that surrounded the back of the estate had a fourteen foot wide section of it collapsed from the last time the fuglies attacked,and proving just how dumb Legion were,they came in that way-the path of least resistance,yes,but you never attacked the same site twice from the same location.You were just asking to get killed.

Bob casually walked over the bright green expanse of lawn to meet them,direct sunlight bringing out strands of molten gold in his otherwise brown hair,and you'd think he was meeting them for a tea party he was so nonchalant about the whole thing. But then Bob seemed to have a terminal case of sangfroid.

The four fuglies-a rather small Legion-came towards the mansion still in their human form,but as soon as someone noticed Bob,they instantly morphed into their bigger,uglier forms.

Logan stood just outside the back of the mansion,claws sprung,waiting to assist Bob if he needed it,but he seriously doubted he'd need it.Demons were his thing,after all.And he was...well,Angel's description of Bob as a one man army was not accurate: Bob didn't leave a lot of carnage in his wake.All he left was a whole bunch of confused people who never remembered meeting him in the first place.Actually,a nice talent if you could hack it-if they don't even know you exist,how in the hell can they find you?

He had no idea what Bob's plan was,but he was still a bit surprised to watch Bob,standing stock still in the path of those ugly mothers,begin moving almost imperceptibly.It looked like he was just shifting weight from the ball of one foot to another subtly,a movement so tiny it was hard to say it was actually occurring.But then his sway became more pronounced,almost rhythmic.As Logan crept closer,he heard Bob singing faintly under his breath,a tune he did not recognize:"This is what you get.This is what you get when you mess with us."

And then he noticed Legion had not only stopped moving forward,but they were swaying along with Bob.

The fuglies were copying his movements as best they could on their trunk like legs and awkward bodies,and it made him think of birds hypnotized by cobras before they struck their fatal bite.

He wanted to ask him what he was doing,but he was afraid to say anything,even breathe,and shatter the delicate spell being woven here.If that's what it was:it almost felt like something tangible,some kind of energy net he could feel prickling on his skin.

Bob fell silent and stood still,and Legion followed suit,standing so inert they could have been the world's ugliest lawn statuary.

After a moment when the silence seemed absolute-only now did Logan realize the strange thing he heard was in fact an absence of bird song or road noise-Bob seemed to shatter it by saying in a low but conversational voice that seemed loud in the silence,"They're dead.Return to your master."

For what seemed like an eternal moment,nothing happened,and Logan wondered if he should move in and start slicing and dicing.But then the Legion started to move with aching slowness,turning back towards the fence,reverting to their pseudo-human forms once more.

"And now..?"Logan wondered,whispering in case it somehow made a difference.

"We follow,"Bob said.He knew it really wasn't a question more than an impatient statement.

Bob then glanced around,at the well tended gardens beyond the swath of neatly trimmed lawn,and suddenly asked,"You don't garden by any chance,do you?"

Was that a joke?Logan glared at him like he'd suddenly become as dumb as Legion."What?"

Bob shook his head,and made a vague gesture with his hand."Nothing.Come on,we don't want them to get too far ahead- they're faster in their humanoid form."

Logan had no problem following that suggestion,but he couldn't help but ask,"What the hell does gardening have to do with anything?"

Bob didn't answer,but he didn't really expect him to.To call Bob strange was the equivalent of calling the sun 'kind of warm'-it didn't even begin to describe the thing.But Bob waited to follow him,ceding to Logan's expertise in the matter of tracking,and Logan headed out after Legion,with the desperately odd man right behind him.

He briefly wondered if Bob's gardening comment was somehow related to this,but no,that didn't make sense.

They must have followed them for two miles (and never once did the buggers look back-dumb,dumb,dumb),which was no problem for Logan:he suspected he'd had worse.In fact,even if he was suspended upside down over an erupting volcano, trussed up in adamantium wire,being slowly lowered into a lava flow while flesh eating ants made a snack of his skin,it would still be a safe assumption he had had worse at some point in his life.

God,that sucked.

He thought Bob might have some trouble keeping up,or at least complain about the distance,but no,not at all.Bob remained as cool as always,and quiet too,which made him an ideal companion.In most cases,the guy just wouldn't shut up.

When he allowed himself to think about it,he wondered how things were at the mansion.Bob's little demonstration had left everyone a bit too stunned to do much except go along with whatever he said-except for Xavier,who was clearly vying for second place in the cool customer rankings-but now that he was gone and they'd had time to really digest what had occurred, he figured they'd treat Bob different once they got back.Whether it would respectful different or pitchforks and torches different was up for grabs.But Bob had healed Scott's arm on the way out to meet Legion;you'd think that would win him some extra brownie points.

It suddenly occurred to him Bob could probably give Xavier use of his legs back-if anyone could,it was Bob.But would Xavier accept it,if Bob offered?Somehow he didn't think so,and he had a feeling that's why Bob never offered.He always seemed to be a page ahead of everyone else:yet another annoying Bob quality.

Legion seemed to disappear from view just before a rather large ranch style house set on a parcel of land that appeared to contain a small farm.Logan could still smell them,but there was no sign of them or their recent passage:even the split rail wooden fence of the property was completely intact,as if the elephantine Legion had never been here at all.What the hell?

And as he approached the fence,he felt something odd.

It was indefinable odd:just a feeling that raised the hair on his arms and the back of his neck,a sort of minute vibration in the air that had no source or purpose."Logan,stop,"Bob said,finally breaking the silence.

"You feel that?"He asked.

"Yes-a glamour.But not a big one."

"A what?"

"A small spell.In this case,I'm guessing a protective one that surrounds the property like a burglar alarm."Bob came up to stand beside him,looking at the same perfect nothingness Logan was looking at.

"A spell again,"Logan sighed.It was bad enough he had to accept demons,vampires,and werewolves-did he really have to accept spells now?

Bob lifted his hand up and slowly took a few steps towards the fence.Before Logan could ask him what he was doing,the air seemed to shimmer before his upraised hand,tiny tendrils of blue energy snaking towards him from thin air.If they bothered Bob,he didn't seem to show it.He ran his hand back and forth through the air in front of him,as if he was stroking the hide of some invisible animal.Then he began to speak.

Or maybe just speak in tongues-Logan had no goddamn idea what language he was attempting to speak.It sounded like gibberish,random syllables strung together.Maybe it was Esperanto.

He thought,for a moment,that the air actually became visible:a wall of particles and the spaces between them like a gauzy veil between them and the rest of the world.And then,in a blink,it was gone.So was that strange feeling that made his hair stand on end.

"We can pass now,"Bob said,walking forward.

Logan followed,wondering how he could be surprised by anything Bob did.After all,he didn't smell inhuman more than he simply smelled like power:if electricity had a smell beyond ozone,that was what Bob smelled like.

"What did you do?"Logan asked,even though he knew he'd regret the answer.

"I threw a breaking spell at it.It was pretty weak,as glamours go.Since it's no breeze summoning Legion,I assume the person who erected that wimpy thing around this property is arrogant:stupid dumb up his or her own ass."

"I know the type,"Logan said,before adding,"You do spells now?Is there something you want to tell me?"

"You live as long as I do,you pick up a few things,"he said,with an air that suggested he didn't think it was that big a deal at all.

He was so glad no one else came with them.

It was no problem getting over the fence,and they met no resistance-not even guard dogs-as they walked across the herb field towards a rustic red barn.It was highly unlikely Legion would have been let in the house,and besides,why did they have a barn when Logan knew damn well they didn't have any animals?Well,unless you counted Legion.

Bob was muttering under his breath,and what he feared was another 'spell' just turned out to be another song."Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd,"Bob sang quietly."Smiling."

Idiot was probably a kind term for the fuckhead who lived in this place,but hey,if Bob wanted to be diplomatic,that was his choice.

Logan let Bob lead the way into the Legion stinking barn,figuring it was his turn to do his thing if need be,but Logan was ready to pop his claws on a nanosecond's notice (wasn't he always?).

The wide doors were open,and as they neared he smelled something beneath the noisome reek of the demons:blood and sulphur,and...chamomile?Now there was a weird combination.

The barn was dark but remarkably empty,the only light coming from the open doors and a single open window up in what might be referred to as the 'hayloft' (although it held nothing but the source of that chamomile/sulphur stink),and as they entered the remaining members of Legion were in front of them,facing away.

"...done?"A man's voice asked."They're all dead?"

"Well,not quite,"Bob said,sounding amused.

Legion turned their big,ugly humanoid heads,and a man behind them shouted,"Kill them."

"Berserkers,"Bob said back."Hungry Berserkers."

Legion,as one,made a noise like an air raid siren,their impossibly wide mouths gaping open like tunnels,and they scrambled with surprising swiftness towards the back of the barn,where they proceeded to cower and whimper like beaten puppies.

"What the hell-"Logan began,but Bob had anticipated the question (of course).

"The only natural predator of Legion is Berserkers,"he explained casually."Not only is their neural energy thoroughly unappetizing,but Berserkers have a tendency to eat Legion.Legion used to be their dietary staple before they learned to expand their tastes."

Remembering Berserkers-another big ugly species,but somewhat bright,all shark mouthed H.R. Giger rejects-he could see how they could eat Legion,and how they might indeed be terrified.Of course,he found them as scary as your average stuffed animal, but he'd killed one before without a lot of bother.

He could see the man now,over Bob's shoulder.He was staring at them in slack jawed shock,a middle aged man with a slight thickness around the middle that no black robe could hope to conceal,his thinning grey shot black hair shaved into a savage window's peak in some misguided attempt to look sinister.He just looked silly.

He raised his hands like a stage magician,and began speaking haughtily in Latin.

"You have no power,"Bob interrupted.

The porcine faced man finished his incantation with a flourish of his hands towards them...and then looked dumbstruck again. He repeated the final Latin phrase,and shook his hands at them,as if trying to give his traitorous limbs a jump start.But again nothing happened,and he looked almost distraught.

"Now that you're through with this nonsense,"Bob said coolly-could he say things in any other way?"Tell us who you are,and why you wanted to kill Xavier's people."

The man's small grey eyes took on a somnambulistic glazed quality,and Logan knew Bob had gotten himself another person. Although Marcus was right-it was endlessly creepy-it was kind of cool,as long as you weren't on the wrong end of it.

"I am Milo Steen,and I was paid to,"the man said,his voice betraying a thick New Jersey accent that it hadn't heard before.Maybe because his other voice was an affectation.

"Paid to?By whom?"Bob asked.Logan let him ask the questions,because he knew the afflicted only seemed to hear Bob.

"We never exchanged true names.I knew the contact only as Mr. Black."

"So you're a rogue?"

"It pays the bills,"Steen replied.

"Rogue?"Logan wondered.

"Rogue wizard.They sell their services to the highest bidder."Bob shook his head,frowning in disgust.Obviously he didn't approve."Where did you meet this Mister Black?"

"Once in a club called Pussy Galore's,then we simply transacted over the phone."

"Pussy Galore's?"Bob repeated,then gave Logan a sidelong glance."Want to wager it's a strip club?"

"That'd be my bet,"he agreed.Sadly he wasn't as well acquainted with strip clubs as seedy bars,but that was mostly by choice. He liked naked women as much as the next guy,but strip bars struck him as really pathetic,but maybe that's because he could smell the desperation and the hopeless lust of the men,and the flop sweat of women who were putting on a show while holding almost all their audience in complete and utter contempt.It was hard to buy into any sense of fantasy when you knew the ugly reality.There were some real drawbacks to having a hyper-sensitive nose.

"What number did you call to contact Mr. Black?"

"I don't remember."

"Sure you do.The last time you called him,the number you dialed was..?"

"Five five five,seven two four oh."

"Good lad."

"Did he just try and lie to you?"Logan asked.He didn't think that was possible.

"No.He honestly thought he had forgotten.But if you hit the right memory,it comes back."

So why doesn't that work for me,Logan thought,but didn't say.

"Why did Mr. Black want Professor Xavier's people dead?"

"I don't know.I didn't ask."

"No,of course not,"Bob agreed darkly."All you need to know is if the money is good."

"Yes,"Steen agreed,as if that had been a question.

"How much money did you get for raising Legion?"

"Twenty five thousand dollars."

"Wow,you're cheap."

"Are you serious?"Logan asked.

"Absolutely.Raising Legion is such a bitch I'd never charge under a hundred thou for it,"Bob said,adding,"not that I'd ever raise Legion for any price."

Logan simply grunted in acknowledgment,reserving further comment.Only Bob himself knew what he was capable of.

"Did Mr. Black give you any specific instructions for Legion?"Bob continued.

"Leave the Professor alive."

"Why?"

"There were other plans for him."

Logan raised an eyebrow."What do you mean?"He then shifted his gaze to Bob,the only man who could actually answer.

"Did he say what those plans were?"Bob asked,although Logan couldn't help but notice he wasn't surprised in the least:Bob had expected him to say something like that.What did Bob know that they didn't?

"No."

Bob glanced impatiently at the mewling forms of Legion in the corner,and said,"You have the power.Now send them back."

Steen turned slowly,like a man under water,and said a few things,some of which may have been in Latin,but to Logan it could have all been Esperanto-how in the hell did he know?But Logan could feel something happening-it seemed to prickle on his skin-and Steen raised his hands with a flourish,and something like a dark light began swirling around Legion,like a spider spinning a web.Suddenly it seemed to cover Legion like a black cocoon,and in a flash of light and a brief burst of sulphur and a smell something like overcooked meat,Legion were gone.

"Can he make himself gone?"Logan asked Bob.

"You won't remember us,"Bob went on,probably ignoring him."And when you come to,maybe you'll consider the fact that selling your services like a hit man is a really bad idea,because it might get you in the middle of a battle you could only lose. Also,you'll have an urge to move as far away from here as quickly as possible.Night now."

Steen just passed out,falling to the dirt floor of the barn like a marionette violently severed from its strings,a small cloud of dust puffing up on impact.Logan realized,for the first time,"A wizard named Milo from Jersey?"

"We can't all have cool names,"Bob replied."And technically I'm English by birth."He shuddered dramatically in distaste.

"Oh right,Botany Bay."Logan wasn't really sure if he should believe that or not."What were you sent up for?"

"Thievery.Oh,how I loved to take the piss by stealing things from people.I knew I'd be caught half the time,but I didn't care-it was the principal of the thing."

"The principal?What principal?"

"That I thought they were twats.Understand this was long before I had the powers I have now.Now I know better ways to take the piss out of people-who needs their stuff?"

Logan nodded in understanding-well,sort of-but it didn't honestly surprise him that Bob had been a thief,and he didn't really know why.Maybe he just had the temperament.But he got back to the original topic as they left Steen snoring in the barn."You suspected Xavier was the real target all along,didn't you?"

Bob arched an eyebrow at him in curiosity,but he gave him an approving smile."Now why would you think that?"

"Spare me the bullshit."

"How can I?Bullshit is my middle name."

Logan scowled at him,and Bob's smile grew wider.He really lived for this sort of thing,didn't he?

Rather than head back the way they came,Bob headed out towards the road,and Logan followed,although he wondered why. "Come on-why did you think Xavier was at the heart of this?"

They had reached the edge of the road by the time Bob deigned to answer him."The attack on the town drew the wunderkinds out,leaving Xavier all by his lonesome,a state he would have remained in had Jean's telekinesis not come in really handy.And the attack on the mansion would have been successful the second time if you hadn't been there."

"Do you think Xavier knows?"He didn't think the Professor was the type to lie.But didn't everybody lie,even if only to themselves?

"I'm not really sure.That's why I want to have a talk with him."Bob said it neutrally,but Logan could not shake the feeling Bob was lying.He had suspected a Xavier connection almost from the get go,hadn't he?Is that why he asked him how he made his money?Holy shit.Bob was really damn good:he missed his calling as a detective.

A small blue Toyota came puttering around the corner ,heading in the opposite direction,and Bob walked out into the middle of the road and stood in its path.The car slowed,then stopped,and Bob,at Logan's questioning look,explained,"I think it's in everybody's best interest that we get back to the mansion as soon as possible."

Bob then looked in at the driver of the car,an elderly woman with curly brown hair and a kind,round face who looked like the stereotypical grandmother type,and said,"Sorry ma'am,but we're two teenage girls whose car has broken down.We're very harmless-we remind you of your nieces-and you'd be more than happy to give us a lift to the Xavier school back in Westchester."
"I am not a teenage girl."Logan protested.

Bob looked over his shoulder at him,giving him a mischievous,highly amused smile."Now you are."

"Oh,you poor things,"the woman said,and reached over to open the passenger side door."Hop in."

Bob held the door open,and said,almost laughing,"Come on,Susan."

Logan's evil death stare finally pushed Bob over the edge,making him laugh uproariously.Good or not,he had the most fucked up sense of humor he had ever known.

Well,no,of course he did:he felt terrible 'pushing' an innocent,and he had to assuage his guilt somehow.One hundred dollars seemed a small price to pay for it,even though Logan looked at him like he was insane.But then he was human,and money meant something to him.It was the language of Human society;it greased the wheels,it kept the world turning,and seemed to solve all manner of ills.Or at least they thought it did.But they caused a lot of problems too-it sort of depended on how you looked at it,and what exactly you did with the cash.

Jean and Scott were waiting for them as they returned to the mansion,and having seen what happened in the garden,were slightly nonplussed.Scott pointed out testily it looked like hypnotism,but Bob let it pass:he was still ashamed of his reaction to what happened earlier,and he was just trying to snip his way past it.Fine with him-no harm,no foul.

He also gave a slightly sanitized version of what happened at the farmhouse,to spare Logan the agony of explaining.He shorthanded it,saying Legion were 'brought in' by a middleman,paid to take them out and leave Xavier vulnerable.He left them to trace the phone number,and went off to talk to the Professor alone.

Bob found him in his office,seated behind his desk,looking through a heavy tome that could have been anything.Even though the sun was streaming in through the window behind him,he squinted  as he looked up at the door:pain,of course."Can I talk to you for a minute?"Bob asked,then clarified,"Do you think you can stand me for a bit?"

"Yes,I think so,"he said with a kind smile,closing the book.

Bob entered the office,shutting the thick mahogany door securely behind him,and noticed the portable chalkboard off to the left of Xavier's desk.There was a diagram of what appeared to be a wormhole on it in three dimensional space,but it could have been copied from a Stephen Hawking book.It looked all wrong.

Unable to help himself,he went over,erased most of the wormhole's 'tail',the funnel shaped center that kept the openings in either universe in place,and using the piece of chalk in the tray quickly sketched out how it really was:not so much a worm as a hydra squared;infinite passages to infinite places,off ramps on the celestial highway.It all depended on what your starting point was,and how you intended to get there.He added grid points,references in 'real' space,and quickly retreated back towards the door,brushing chalk dust from his hands.

Xavier quirked a slender eyebrow up at him."That's a radical interpretation of theoretical physics."

"It's not theoretical."

"I was afraid you were going to say that,"he admitted,smiling faintly,still glancing at the new information on the chalkboard. After a moment,he said,"Would you ever like to be a guest lecturer?"

Bob shrugged."I don't know.It gets pretty wacky after a while."

"I'm sure."The smile faded,and he was all business."How did it go?"

He told him the whole story,not leaving out the fact that the middleman was a wizard.Xavier accepted it all with equanimity,and didn't seem the least bit surprised,but then Bob didn't expect him to be.He leaned against the door,and asked,"When did you encounter Legion before?"

Xavier looked stunned."What?I've never seen them before."

Truth."But you knew they weren't Human."

He nodded."I couldn't sense anything from them.And since they weren't wearing Erik's helmet,I had to assume they were inhuman to some capacity."

That was another truth,although Bob had no idea who Erik was,and it was a sort of half-truth."And you knew Logan could kill them."

That made Xavier pause.He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it,thinking better of protesting his innocence.He then said,"I knew if anyone could,he could."

Truth again,but one that sort of avoided the question."Because of what he is,and what they were."

Xavier looked at him curiously."Are you getting at something?"

"I just want to make sure you're not-with the best of intentions-using him like the government used him.As a weapon. Because that's what he was created and conditioned for,and we both know it.He is the soldier who is never disarmed,and can't be killed,and they drilled it into him so well he thinks that's all he's good for."

Xavier looked stunned,anger and shame briefly warring across his face before fleeing,leaving a placid expression in its wake."I would never exploit Logan.I want to help him."

Truth there-good."I'm glad.He needs all the help he can get,whether he admits it or not.But you are using him as a safety net. When it boils down to it,if he can't hurt a thing he will instantly find a way to do it,come hell or high water,and none of your other people are inclined that way.They don't like violence,and try to avoid it when at all possible.Commendable,but no good to you here and now."

"You are getting at something,"Xavier said grimly,his expression turning to stone.

"You were expecting something like this,Professor.Maybe not Legion specifically,but an inhuman attack.A demon attack.Who did you piss off,Professor?"

Xavier had to think about that for a long moment,and still seemed unsure as he admitted,"I'm sure I've pissed off many people, many I don't even know."

"What about demons?"

"It's possible."

Oh man-lie.In capital neon letters."Professor,you asked me what I was earlier.Maybe I should tell you now I'm a Belial."

"Belial?"He pondered that a moment."As in the 'demon of lies'?"

"Exactamundo.And it really does take one to know one,so would you like to answer that question again?"

Xavier frowned,but had the decency to look embarrassed at being caught out.With great reluctance,he said,"It was a long time ago...and I do believe he is dead."

"Some demons don't die,Professor-they just lay in wait until some dumbass decides to give them a helping hand back."

Xavier glanced down at the clean surface of his desk,chagrined and a bit angry at himself,but Bob couldn't tell if it was for all of this,being caught in a lie,or a combination of everything.

"You had Logan bring me into this because I am a demon,and you knew you were facing an inhuman threat.I want you to understand some things,Professor:I think what you're doing here is terrific,very noble,all that shit.You'll probably get a big donation from me in the future.Also,if you want to find this guy in a timely manner,I'm your best and only hope.But I am not doing this for you.Logan asked for help,so as far as I'm concerned,I am helping him.At least he doesn't try to lie to me."Xavier looked sharply up at him,but Bob wasn't interested in his excuses for it."You want to keep this from your people?Fine,that's your choice.But if I'm to help you in any way I need the truth.And I can get it,one way or another."

His whole expression sharpened,his blue eyes narrowing to slits that had nothing to do with pain."Is that a threat?"

"No,it's a statement of fact.And I think you know that."

Xavier studied him for a moment,his lips thinning,eyes softening their focus and becoming more clinical."You're a very dangerous man."

"I am,"Bob admitted."Which is why you want me on your side.So talk,Professor,and save your self-loathing for later."

Xavier probably wasn't going to like him much after this,but hell,sometimes being a problem solver meant losing out on Miss Congeniality.

Besides,a tiara was bound to mess up his hair.

**

It would pass.He was an expert at staying up for long periods of time,and knew as soon as he got his second wind,he'd be fine.It was just waiting for the second wind that was a bitch.

"Shit,"Scott hissed under his breath.He'd certainly been cursing more since Bob accidentally humiliated him-coincidence?

"Stolen,I presume?"Jean asked,looking between then.Logan nodded as Scott started pacing the room behind them.From her lingering scent alone he knew this was Storm's office they had borrowed,and that seemed a little creepy somehow.Not that he cared,exactly,but Storm might later if they screwed up her stuff.

"Yes.Number cloning is where -"Scott began,but there was no way in hell Logan was sitting here for a lecture.

"They copied it from someone's cell phone and used it until they were found out or,most likely,were simply done with it,"
Logan explained,getting it over with.Scott scowled at him for interrupting,but he scowled right back.He didn't care about him, either.

"So where does that leave us?"Jean wondered,giving Logan an exaggeratedly evil look.Probably because she'd have to turn around to throw it at Scott.

"Shit out of luck,"Logan answered flippantly."A state where everyone knows our name."

Scott stopped his pacing long enough to look at him."What?You don't think your hypnotist friend can pull a rabbit out of his hat?"
Logan stared at him more in impatience than disbelief."Ignoring the fact that you mixed your metaphors,teach,you really don't wanna fuck with Bob.He's bein' nice to you now-god knows why-but when he runs out of patience with your bullshit,you won't even remember what he does to you.But we will."

Scott crossed his arms over his chest,and got a look on his face like he felt like being beligerent."I'm not afraid of him."

"Then you're stupider than I thought,"he shot back."You should be.You haven't seen this guy in action.Oh wait,yes you have..."

"He does seem very powerful,"Jean interrupted,cutting Logan off and trying to cool Scott's jets at the same time.Good luck to her."Does he really alter reality simply by willing it so?That's...unimaginable."

"I'm not sure what he does.All I know is he can fuck with the heads of a room full of people,and none of them are ever the wiser.I don't know if he can kill with a word,but I wouldn't be surprised."

"And he's a good guy?"Scott asked incredulously.

"No.I don't think terms like good or bad applies to him.Or me,actually."

"That I believe,"Scott said darkly.Jean turned to look at him over her shoulder,and he bet she finally gave him the evil eye.Scott threw up his hands in exasperation,and said."I need some coffee.Do you want something?"