"He was probably full of shit,Logan,"Scorpion pointed out,although even he didn't sound convinced.

Logan shoved his beer aside,sloshing some of it over the rim and onto the simulated wood grain table,stained and pitted with the detritus of hundreds of beers and careless cigarette ashes."I'm sure he was,but he was telling me the truth as he knew it, and didn't seem happy about it."

Scorpion huffed a sigh through his nose,anxiously tapping his gloved fingers on the scarred tabletop."So what,we give up now?"

"No.You're the great base hunter-you haven't heard anything else?"

"Nothing I'd trust,"he admitted,frustration evident in his voice.

"Still?"Logan prompted.He didn't think he was holding out on him more than he was simply being wary.

After a moment,Scorpion admitted,"There are old rumors dogging  about half a dozen places in Montana,a place outside of Nome,Alaska,Death Valley,and some place in Southern Mexico,but I've been to most of those places and seen nothing."

For some reason,the name Death Valley sounded familiar,even though he was relatively sure he had never been there.It must have showed on his face,because Scorpion sat forward,and said,"What?"

It almost felt like a memory,but he wasn't sure it was his.Maybe it was just a hunch,a gut intuition...or just another feeling he couldn't trust.Still,he said,"We should go to Death Valley."

"Why?"

"Honestly?I don't know.But I think that's where we should go."

"Again,why?"

Logan could only shrug."Just a hunch."

"Just a hunch,"Scorpion repeated,sounding deeply skeptical and defeated.But after a moment,he sighed,and said,"Why the hell not?Death Valley it is."

Logan wondered what they'd find there.For some undefinable reason,he knew they wouldn't be coming 

up empty handed.

He jolted awake in bed,instantly cringing at the reflected daylight bleeding in around the edges of the curtain,but threw off the covers and hopped to his feet anyways.He almost charged out to see what was going on until he realized it was just someone pounding on his door.

He didn't know anyone who knocked quite that heavily,except perhaps an agitated Gunn."Just a minute,"he shouted, grabbing a pair of pants and hastily pulling them on.He grabbed a shirt from the closet and slipped it on as he went to the door of his room and opened it."What is it?"He asked,and almost did a double take when he saw who was standing there.

It was Logan,looking slightly embarrassed,and a very muscular black man wearing...welding goggles?Oh,hey,Scorpion-a face he never expected to see again."Hey,Logan,Marcus,"he said,trying to be casual."What's up?"He really didn't know how Logan felt about him right now,especially after what happened with Naomi.Angel had thought Logan should tell them about their relationship-it seemed pretty clear to him that they had loved each other,whether they had said it or not-but Logan was too distraught and busy blaming himself to even consider it,and was pretty pissed off at Angel for even bringing it up.He really didn't know if he'd ever see him again,so having him just show up like this was a bit of a shock.

"Well,Scorpion insisted we offer to bring you in on this,"Logan admitted grudgingly,his greenish blue eyes still remarkably hard.So he hadn't quite forgiven him yet.

"In on what?"Angel asked,holding the door open wide so they could come in.Logan seemed reluctant at first,but he did come in,and Marcus followed.

"We think there's a base in Death Valley,and we want to hit it in force,"Marcus explained,as Angel shut the door.

"We don't want a repeat of Dry Lake or Big Empty,where we were at a disadvantage,"Logan said,glancing around the room so he didn't have to look him in the eyes."You own the hotel,yet you only live in this one room?"

"I don't need a lot of room,"he offered half heartedly,then added,more emphatically,"I don't think revenge is a good idea, especially on an entity as large as this."

Logan's head shot around towards him,anger shining in his eyes."They didn't do this to you,did they?"He snapped,popping the claws on his left hand and letting them spring up towards his face.Angel did flinch involuntarily,even though he knew Logan wasn't about to stab him:they both knew from experience it never did any good."Besides,it's not only about revenge- one of the telepaths from the Big Empty survived and tried to set me up.I think she may have fucked with my head too.I wanna know why."

"I'm just in it for the revenge,"Marcus added.Since it was dark in here,he pushed his goggles up onto his bald pate,exposing his wide pupiled eyes.

Angel sighed as best he could without breath,running a hand through his hair.He didn't want to encourage Logan's pointless (and stupid dangerous) revenge seeking,but on the other hand,he was going whether Angel agreed to go or not.And he knew he could be useful if they got in trouble,because that group-whatever they were-they still hadn't accepted the fact that he was demon,not mutant.That had to be why Logan was asking him along in the first place.

"Hey,Logan said you knew people,"Marcus continued.

Angel looked between the mutants curiously."Knew people?"

"The woman from the Big Empty is a telepath,"Logan repeated,as if Angel was being a deliberate idiot."Like Shrike.And if we don't want to be mindfucked again we need someone who can counter a telepath.Like,what about Icara?"

He shook his head."Kassendars are sensitive to violence;they abhor it."

"Kassendars?"Marcus asked.

"Kind of demon,"Angel replied.

Marcus arched an eyebrow at him."You're Catholic?"

"No.You'd be surprised how little I go to church,"Angel deadpanned.

"So you don't know anybody trustworthy who would go with us and could counter a telepath?"Logan asked with barely concealed impatience,completely ignoring Marcus's little aside.

Angel thought about it for a moment,still torn about abetting Logan in his violent,denial laden quest or simply letting him go to sink or swim on his own.But Angel knew he'd feel terrible if something happened to Logan,and the world simply did not need an evil Wolverine in it.And he could keep the body count down...maybe.

Thinking about getting someone who could help him conspire to keep the body count down brought to mind the thought that he'd need an army of one,and he knew someone who almost qualified,didn't he?

He grimaced at the thought,and Logan caught it."What is it?"

"I know someone who could counter a telepath,"Angel admitted reluctantly."But I'm not sure I'd call him trustworthy."

***

"What's so funny?"Marcus asked,looking around Bob's sparse backroom office in the Way Station,still decorated by wooden crates (several with biohazard symbols) and the lone wooden desk.

Bob was seated behind the desk,the heels of his boots propped up on the far edge as he leaned back in his ergonomic desk chair.He fanned himself with his hand and and seemed to get a grip."Asking if I can handle a human telepath.Thanks Angel,that's the best laugh I've had in weeks."

"So is that a yes or a no?"Logan asked testily,crossing his arms over his chest.

The three of them-Angel,Logan,and Marcus- were standing before his desk,in various states of impatience.The demon bar out front had not been very busy when they came in,but immediately cleared out,much to Lia's irritation,but she couldn't completely blame Angel for it this time.When Logan loudly noted no one smelled human,a semi-drunk Frenik demon asked him who the fuck he was.Logan answered,with equal bile,"Wolverine.What the fuck are you?"

It was amazing how fast the bar cleared.It was like someone yelled Slayer in a graveyard.Logan hadn't been in L.A. for long, but he had been there long enough to get a major bad ass reputation,even among demons (well,killing a Berserker barehanded-well,so to speak-could do that for you).And although Lia gave him a sour look,she didn't dare comment, probably because she didn't know enough about his abilities to determine whether or not he'd be a genuine threat to her.

"Get a hundred of the most powerful human telepaths you can find and sic 'em on me:I still won't even have to get out of bed."

"You think you're that good?"Logan asked,and it sounded like a challenge.

Bob met his eyes and smiled,finding Logan's hostility strangely amusing."No.As strong as they are,they still have a basic weakness.Mutant or not,they're human.I'm not.I win."

"So you're a demon too,huh?"Marcus asked,sounding skeptical."Vampire?"

"Oh,hell no.Belial.But,while I am full of shit,I'm not like most of the wanker Belials around."

Logan frowned at him."Know a guy named Ralph?"

Bob had to think for a moment."The Khendo demon that lives under the overpass?"

As Logan looked deeply confused,unsure if Bob was bullshitting him or not,Angel interrupted,"Just a Belial we had some dealings with a while back.Drug dealer."

Bob nodded in understanding."Yeah,there are some real pricks around."

"So if you're full of shit,why should we believe you're as powerful a telepath as you say you are?"Marcus wondered,pointing out a great flaw in Bob's own logic.

"I'm not a telepath,mate.I'm better than that."

"How so?"Logan still sounded challenging and disbelieving,and the more Logan was overtly hostile to him,the more Bob seemed to find it funny.Did he want to end up on the wrong side of Logan's claws?

"I don't think there's really a human term for what I do.Mesmerism comes close,but only in a 'just under a parsec' sort of way."

"Mesmerism?"Logan repeated,and chuckled darkly."You're what,a carny sideshow hypnotist?"

Bob swept his feet off the edge of his desk and sat forward,the look on his eerily handsome and human face deadly serious. "Those are fighting words,you know."

Logan let his arms fall to his sides,clearly ready,willing,and looking forward to using his claws on Bob."Bring it on,Kreskin."

"Now he's a 'mentalist',and a complete con artist,I might add,"Bob said,sounding more conversational.But he looked Logan right in the eyes,and only Angel knew the danger of that.

"Bob,"Angel warned,but it was too late.

"Looks like you could use a laugh,Logan,"Bob suggested,and with that,Logan burst out laughing.Not a sarcastic chortle or a dark snicker,but a genuine,raucous laugh that seemed bizarre coming from him.Even Marcus gave him a strange,sidelong glance,and sidled farther away from him.

"Logan?"Marcus asked warily,as Logan leaned over to catch his breath,resting his hands on his knees,still giggling in spite of his best efforts to stop.Marcus then turned his sharp gaze on Bob."What the fuck did you do to him?"

"Given him something I think he's needed for a while,"Bob claimed guilelessly,then gave him a crooked smile."Love the goggles,mate.Very Mad Max."

"I see in infrared,"Marcus said defensively.The goggles were perched on his scalp again,as it was so dim in the Way Station there was no way he'd need them.

"Cool,"Bob said,then looked at Logan,even though he was still staring down at the floor."And what's your superpower, Logan?"

Logan suddenly straightened up,and his face was back in its usual stern and angry mask.Not only was he no longer laughing, he was clearly unaware he had ever done so."I hurt things,"Logan snarled,and shot his hand over Bob's desk,unleashing the claws of his right hand about a foot from Bob's face."Permanently.So don't mock me."

Bob's nuclear blue eyes widened so much Angel thought there might be a real danger of them falling out of his head. "Wow! That is so fucking cool!"He exclaimed ecstatically,leaping up from his chair so fast it coasted back on its wheels until it hit the back wall.He leaned in for a closer look at the nine inch silver blades sticking out from the base of the knuckles of Logan's right hand,although careful not to touch or come too close,and asked,"You weren't born with these,were you?"

"No,"Logan said,looking uncomfortable,as that was neither the reaction he expected or wanted.He retracted his claws with the same metallic thunk as always,but didn't put his hand down fast enough for Bob not to notice Logan's other unique talent.

"Fast healer,huh?"

"Yeah,"he muttered in reply,glancing down at the floor as if ashamed of it.

"The men who did that to him are the one we're after,"Angel told Bob,only for clarification.

"So I guess I can't be buyin' me some of those,huh?"Bob asked,sounding genuinely disappointed.

"I'll give you some,"Logan snapped,drawing back his arm to impale him.But Angel caught his elbow and held it still,and when Logan gave him a dirty look for it,Angel simply shook his head,although he was sympathetic.Bob wasn't his favorite guy either,but there was no denying he was not a being to trifle with:Ralph was an amoeba of a Belial to the powerful demonoid Bob was,and Logan was obviously unaware of it.

But,truth be told,if he really wanted to,Bob could kick all their asses.And they'd never know it.

"Why'd you laugh,dude?"Marcus asked Logan,as soon as Angel felt confident enough to let go of his arm."What was so funny?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"Logan asked,brow furrowing in annoyance.But Logan soon shifted that look back to the still smiling Bob.He hadn't been afraid of Logan's claws,not for one moment."And why in the fuck are we supposed to trust a goddamn fortune teller?"

Bob sighed dramatically,and retrieved his chair so he could sit behind his desk once more."Now,Logan,that's not what I do.Is it,Angel?"

And that was the last thing Angel remembered clearly.

Bob looked nothing like Ralph,save for the intensely blue eyes.Ralph had a sort of generic look;he could have been anyone. But Bob was a good looking man,male model sort of handsome,although not effeminate,which was quite a feat.He looked fit too,muscular.He was wearing a short sleeved white t-shirt through which you could see a well defined upper body,and it showed off his biceps too,and Logan wondered how vain he was.He certainly liked to show himself off.Or was it some laughingly lame attempt to physically intimidate someone?

As Bob shifted his gaze to Angel,Logan sensed a change in the air,but it was hard to pinpoint or name.It was like ozone building in the air before a storm,or before Naomi got really mad (shit-why'd he have to think of her?),but not like that at all.It wasn't palpable;it was a sort of psychic pressure,a psionic tradewind that you weren't sure you could feel at all.

Logan glanced behind him,and saw Angel meeting Bob's gaze unflinchingly-but why was that weird?Oh yeah,he wasn't blinking,and his face seemed strangely blank.

"Angel,why don't you get us all some beers?The good stuff.Lia will know what you mean."Bob said.Logan was deeply irritated by the fact that Bob seemed constantly amused,as if they were all one big joke. He really wanted to wipe the smirk off his face and the mocking laughter out of his eyes,but Angel,for some reason,seemed to think that was a bad idea.

Logan assumed Angel would tell him to go fuck himself,but Angel,still blank faced and not saying a word,turned and left the dimly lit back office,presumably returning to the bar out front.

Logan turned a caustic gaze on the still smirking Bob."What the fuck did you do to him?"

Bob shrugged with his hands."You wanted to know what I do,Logan.That's it."

"Make people your personal servants?"he sneered in reply,unimpressed.

Bob leaned back in his chair and folded his long fingered hands on his chest,still looking vaguely amused enough for Logan to want to punch him."Well,yeah,if I was a complete bastard.But I'm only three-fourths a bastard.I'm only doing this for demonstration purposes."

"Color me underwhelmed."

Bob's smirk deepened,his eyes glittering like sapphires,and the desire to splatter his blood all over the wood grain walls was almost overwhelming."Oh come on,mate,you're a smart man.I can impose my will on anyone,and no one can fight back. So,if I wanted Angel to walk out into the sunlight,I could do that as easily as make him fetch the beer.There is no difference at all:kiss or kill,same damn thing."

"And you're saying a telepath-or several telepaths-could do nothing to stop you?"Marcus interjected,still giving Logan a strange look out of the corner of his eye.What?

"Absolutely not.They're a different creature on the evolutionary scale than I am,whether mutant Human or demon.I could let a telepath read my mind if I was so inclined,but it would be a deeply unpleasant experience for them.Sort of like Frenching a live wire,I suppose.I'm full of a high voltage psychic energy that no Human is made to handle.Well,Cordy can handle it for a bit,but the PTB's have been throwin' energy like that at her for a while..."

"PTB's?"Marcus asked.

The door to the office opened,and Angel came in,a can of beer under each arm and one in each hand.He handed one to Logan,then Marcus,and put one on Bob's desk before him.The cans were large and cold,and foreign-some sort of Australian lager Logan had never seen before.

As Angel stepped back to where he had been,his own can of lager now firmly in his hand,Bob looked at him,and said,"Thank you,Angel.Now,you were going to say?"

Life came back to Angel's face,and he replied,"We can argue about this later,Bob.Can you help us or not?"Angel then looked down,startled,at the can of beer in his hand."Where did this come from?"

Marcus chuckled deep in his throat."Oh man,now that's creepy."

Angel frowned at Bob."Did you push me?"

"He wanted to see me in action."

"Push you?"Logan repeated,but he thought he understood what he meant-give him a mental 'push' in the direction he desired.

"Don't do it again,"Angel growled,dark eyes narrowing to lethal slits.

Bob smiled back at him,assuming a look of innocence that even he had to know did not fit."Well,I'd say I'd never,but we both know I'm full of shit."

The office door opened,and one of the stranger mutants Logan had ever seen came in.

No,scratch that-she didn't smell Human either.

It was a green skinned woman with short jade green hair and dark emerald eyes,dressed in faded blue jeans torn at the right knee (revealing more green skin),and a red sleeveless tank top that sort of clashed with her own skin.And...what the hell?

Did she have a tail?

About two feet long,as green as the rest of her and as thin as a whip,it twitched behind her like the tail of an impatient cat, moving in counter rhythm behind her as she entered the room.She looked him over,her dark green lips curving into a smile, and said,"Well hello strong,dark,and hairy."

"Helga,this is Logan and Marcus,also known as Wolverine and Scorpion,respectively.Logan,Marc,this is Helga,my weapons tester and dear friend."

She arched a forest green brow at him."Can't say bang buddy,huh?"

"Not in mixed company,no."

"Mixed company can be fun,"she said suggestively,giving Logan an openly hungry look."Tell me,do you like tequila,Logan?"

Logan just stared back at her,not sure what to say or what she was on about,but before he could point that out,Bob interjected,"How do you feel about a road trip,love?"

Marcus was staring openly at Helga."Whoa,that's some mutation you've got.I bet you got teased a lot in school."

Helga gave Marcus a sly smile."Where I went to school,I was hardly noticed."She then looked over at Bob,while Logan felt something flick the back of his thigh;a quick glance back confirmed it was her tail."Where to?"

"Death Valley."

"That's a bit hot for you,isn't it,Vlad?"She commented wryly,looking at Angel,while the tip of her tail snaked under Logan's shirt.

Logan grabbed her tail."Don't.Keep your...appendages to yourself."

Her tail squirmed out of his hand with surprising muscularity,and she barely gave him a sidelong glance as Angel scowled at her."I didn't think we'd be dropping by this afternoon."

"Night raid.We're going to help them kick some butt."Bob continued.

"Oh.Well then,count me in."

"Don't you want to know who and why?"Marcus asked her.

She shrugged a single shoulder,her tail tapping Logan briefly on the small of his back,just to annoy him.If she hadn't been an ally (?),he'd have sliced the damn thing off."As long as I'm getting some action,honey,I'm not very particular about who or why,"she said,giving Marcus a mischievous smirk.

"That's my girl,"Bob said proudly,grinning fiercely back at her.

Oh god-he knew he never should have asked Angel for help,but he had no idea he'd take them to a couple of perverted con artists.

Why not?This was L.A.,after all.What else was there?

***

There was nothing but sand and cacti as far as the eye could see in the blinding brightness,the ground baked and cracked to a sort of pale beige,as if the pigment was being slowly bleached away like the bones of a dead man.

On the flat,bright horizon,the sun seemed closer somehow,larger,a disk of yellow on a pale,watercolor blue backdrop,and even with designer sunglasses on,she needed to squint to see anything ahead of her,including the dark figure of Erasmus, shimmering in the waves of heat like a mirage.

"What the hell are we supposed to be looking for?"She asked,not for the first time."If it was a surface installation,it would have been found long before now."

As much as she hated Canadian winters,she now found herself missing the cool,gentle breezes and friendlier sky.

"You're a psychic,honey,"he replied,his voice carrying on the dry,harsh gusts of superheated air."Maybe you can tell me."

She scowled at him,not at all appreciating her dad's so called sense of humor."You know it doesn't work like that.I can't force it."

A tumbleweed blew across the empty expanse of desert,and Omen turned away,heading back to the maroon colored Road Ranger,shimmering in the waves of heat rising off the desert floor.

And that's when she had a vision.

There were no announcements;they simply happened,presenting themselves as waking dreams in her mind's eye.

And she saw,against a dark backdrop,the handsomest man she had ever seen in her life.

Tall and reasonably muscular,he wore black leather pants tight enough to be intriguing,and a sleeveless white t-shirt clingy enough to show off a well developed chest as he folded his nicely sculpted arms in front of him.

He gave her a warm,slightly playful smile,and his eyes were so impossibly blue she knew he was either a mutant or wearing contact lenses."Karma's a bitch,ain't it,darlin'?"He asked,his voice betraying an Australian accent as his amazing eyes turned decidedly frosty.

The sudden attraction turned into butterflies of anxiety in her stomach.Pretty or not,the man was dangerous:she knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

His eyes glowed like a furnace,suns going nova,and his smile all but disappeared."I bet you wish I was the karma now,don't you?"

And behind her she heard a noise:a strange metal on metal sound that she had heard only once before...when Logan unleashed his claws-

She snapped her head around violently,only to have the vision end and the blinding desert vista come flooding back into view.

Her heart continued to pound like she had run a marathon,and the heat seemed to leech her breath away,like sweat from her skin.Had she just seen the means of her own death?"Dad,I think we should get out of here,now."

"You can't give up that easily,"he chided.

"I think Wolverine is on his way here."

He scoffed,waving a hand dismissively."So what?We can handle that hairy beast,no prob."

Catching her breath but still feeling slightly queasy,she remembered vividly the glowing eyes of the strange man,and how they had an almost consumptive pull,like something inside of him wanted to chew her up and spit her out.Could it?Yes,she imagined so.She wasn't sure she'd feel better being subjected to his idea of karma,but she couldn't help but think he'd be a lot more merciful than Logan."But I'm not sure we can handle his friend."

She wondered if she could live with herself if she took off and left Erasmus behind.

Bob had an old car,sort of like Angel's,but not.It was a late '60's GTO painted a sort of metallic electric blue (almost the exact color of his freaky eyes) with black leather seats and polarized windows,which lightened from murky black to pale grey as the sun continued to set,turning the sky a pollution hued swirled of red,orange,and gold.

Logan had to kick Angel out of the shotgun position in the passenger seat,but he really didn't care,and Angel agreed reluctantly,with a roll of his eyes.

Helga got slightly pouty about it,but after she didn't take his threat seriously (he told her he'd tie her tail in a knot if she did it again,to which she replied,with a gleam in her eye,"Do you like it rough,Logan?") he had no choice but to either move or throw her out of the car.And since it was Bob's car,he had a feeling Bob wouldn't look favorably upon the latter option.

Of course,why Bob ignored his girlfriend's obvious groping of him was a bit mind boggling,but hell,she was a green woman with a tail!Things stopped making sense about that point.

As if to prove that,Helga was now engaged in a serious debate with Marcus over who made the better shoulder mounted rocket launcher-the American or the Israelis.To make it even more surreal,Angel said he thought the American one was best (lighter weight),while Bob weighed in with an alternate choice,Russian,because you could drag it through the mud and run over it and the thing would still work,which you couldn't say for other launchers,and then he added the Chinese had some impressive new models in the works.

"You are all insane,"Logan snapped,searching his coat pockets for a cigar.Smoking would at least keep him from biting his own arm off in a combination of frustration and boredom.

"Look in the glove box,"Bob said,never taking his eyes off the road.The traffic was hideous-typical L.A.-but when it allowed Bob would go as fast as possible,usually about seventy miles an hour.Logan had noticed the speedometer went all the way up to one hundred and fifty,and the car ran so smooth he had little doubt it could do it.