Sadly,it was someone he knew wouldn't appreciate it.

"Hey Carrie,back the fuck off,"Helga spat,her face flushing a darker green in rage.

"Uh,Jean-"Logan began.

"She's with me,"Bob quickly explained."You can let her go."

"She's Bob's,er..."Logan continued,apparently not completely sure what Hel was,or at least not wanting to admit it.

"Business associate,"Bob supplied.

"Girlfriend."Logan finished.

"Bodyguard,bang buddy,and your murderer if you don't let me go,bitch,"Helga snapped.

"Hey,"Logan replied angrily,stepping protectively between Helga and Jean."Watch it.You should've have called before you dropped in.We've had a hell of a day."

Jean let her go.Helga took a deep breath and stepped out from the wall,but as she flexed her shoulders,he saw her tail twitching back and forth like an enraged cat about to take a swat at the nearest person."I'm not afraid of your claws,Logan,"she purred,in a silky,deadly voice."Are you afraid of a little tail?"

Logan arched an eyebrow at her,openly baffled.Only Hel could be simultaneously threatening and flirtatious,and never see the inherent problem in that dichotomy.That was why Bob loved her:the great little paradox.He'd have married her if she believed in any sort of legalized commitment.

"Hel,back off,okay?"He asked,going up to her and placing himself between her and Logan.Maybe she wasn't afraid of his claws,but he was:if Logan got a good shot,he could easily kill her,as good as she was.It was not a fight he ever wanted to see. "It was an honest mistake."

She shot Jean a scathing look over his shoulder,then looked between Logan and him with a small moue of distasteful surrender."Yeah,all right,but just this once.Keep your girlfriend in line,Logan."

"I'm not his girlfriend,"Jean shot back,her voice as cold as ice.

"Aren't you?Well,from the hormones I'm picking up-"Helga began,but Bob made a slashing motion across his throat,sending a desperate plea with his eyes.He didn't want to 'push' her,but he could.

"Excuse me?"Jean asked,starting to sound pissed off.

Helga gave him an exaggerated sort of "only for you,you bastard" look,and said,"There's too many humans here.Or there have been,anyways.Do you people know exactly how you smell?"

"Not as bad as Legion,"Logan said."Well,mostly."

"Legion?"She looked at Bob."Did I show up in time for an ass whupping?"

"Sorry,hon,you just missed it,"he told her,giving her a small kiss on the forehead.

Helga was at least modestly attire-well,for her.She had on her usual low slung jeans (so her tail could be unencumbered),but not the really tight ones,and her black t-shirt barely exposed any midriff and no cleavage,although the name 'Professional Murder Music' was emblazoned in red across her breasts like some kind of personal ad from 'Soldier of Fortune' magazine.He knew from the faint scent of machine oil that she was packing heat;probably her favorite Glock,semi automatic and and platinum plated to give it a silver sheen as bright as jewelry.Also,it could stop a buffalo at a hundred paces.

"Shit,"Helga cursed,disappointed.

"But I'm glad you're here,Hel-I was just about to call you,"he admitted,giving Logan a glance that he hoped communicated that they could all stand down now.He seemed to understand,but looked ready to spring forward at a moment's notice.Kind of funny,because Jean,with her powers,didn't need the help,and surely Logan knew that.But he had to be knee jerk chivalrous."I need to find out the demon hot spots in this neck of New York."

"Is that all?"Now she was very disappointed.She wanted some action-just about any kind would do.

"For now.But you know your help is always welcome."

"Why would she know the demon hot spots of New York?"Logan asked,taking his seat once more.Jean remained standing,but now on the other side of the desk,placing it between her and Helga.She continued to eye her suspiciously,like an unstable guard dog.

"She was born here,"he told him,then looked to Hel for confirmation of her birthplace."Queens?"

She shook her head."Greenwich Village."

"Well,that explains everything,"Jean muttered under her breath.

Helga caught that and gave her a dirty look,but otherwise let it go.Well,for now."There's a large enclave of Stansin demons around here.I'll just ask them where they go for some action."

"I should never leave the room,should I?"Scott asked,standing in the doorway behind them,a cup of coffee in one hand and a mug of tea in the other.

"That might actually be wise,"Bob agreed,although probably not for the reasons he meant.

"Saves us the recap,"Logan added.

That was one thing about humans-the fun never stopped.

Well,almost.

Bob was in the main corridor,headed back down to the lower levels,when Logan caught up with him."Hey,hold up,"he said, while Bob grimaced before turning to face him.He knew what he was going to ask.

"I can't tell you,Logan,"he said,cutting him off.

Logan seemed momentarily taken aback."What?Why the hell not?If Xavier's mixed up in something that could get us killed-"

"It's up to him to tell all of you or not.I will let you know what is vital to know,but otherwise it's up to him to step up to the plate."

Logan's expression seemed to harden,set like cement."Are you protecting him?"

"No,not at all.I'm just not going to make this easy on him.Of all people,you should know there are some things people need to do for themselves."

Logan looked far from appeased."Are you at least going to tell me what we're up against?"

Bob couldn't help but grimace again.Logan was asking all the tough questions today."Well,I'm not completely sure."

Logan's eyes widened in angry disbelief.He looked pissed off enough to try and slug him."This is bullshit,"he snarled.

"I assure you it's not.He couldn't send me the image because of the harm I'd do to him if our minds actually came into contact with one another,and what he described fit a lot of demons,much like your initial description of Legion."

"And you expect me to believe you can't narrow it down?"

"I have,but that still leaves me with a host of suspects.Just bear with me here,Logan.As soon as I know something for sure,you will know."

"Then tell me what the Professor told you,"he countered impatiently.

He should have known he wouldn't let it go."When you need to know,"Bob told him patiently."Not until then.Do you really want to push me?You know I push back."

Logan didn't need to ask if that was a threat or something else,because they both knew the reality here:Logan could be as stubborn as he wanted to be,but ultimately Bob would win this argument,one way or another.And while he didn't want to win it in such a devious manner,he wasn't going to stand here all day and keep going around in conversational circles with him either.

Logan's green eyes were hot enough to melt ice,but with a dissatisfied low growl in the back of his throat he took a step back, symbolically and physically,yet Bob could still see the trouble in his eyes."No,don't even try it.I'm faster."He warned him.

There was a sharp whistle from the end of the hall,and they both turned to see Helga leaning out of a doorway,looking at them.
"The big demon place to be is called The Seventh Circle-it's about twenty five miles from here.Are we going to roll or what?"

"Absolutely,"he told her,then looked to Logan once more."Tell me-can that fabulous nose of yours track down a Human in a club full of smelly demons?"

Logan raised his eyebrows sharply,clearly thrown by the change of topic.But Bob knew they were all going to find out.

Tony tried Milo's number again,but for the fourth time in forty minutes,there was no answer.He snapped his cell phone shut as Kelso passed a paper cup full of some fuel grade espresso to Reddick ,who was stinking up his back seat.He claimed he had showered earlier,so that had to be the guy's natural smell,and god,was it foul:he smelled like burning tires that had recently run over a skunk.

"Ten to one that fucking wizard double crossed us,"Tony muttered,as Kelso handed him his cup of latte.

"We got a confirm,"Kelso argued."Legion hit the mansion."

"And they were repelled,"Reddick commented,his voice strangely sibilant,and constantly full of a low level derision."Why was that?"

"Why do you think I'm trying to get a hold of Steen?"Tony snapped,resisting the urge to look at  Reddick's leering,ugly mug in the rearview mirror.

Tony rested a hand on the steering wheel,and glanced out the black tinted window of the rental Mercedes,hidden well in the parking lot of a large bank,and glanced once again at the facade of the club called The Seventh Circle.The sidewalk around the converted clothing warehouse was remarkably bare,with no sign of the homeless,hookers,or drug dealers that worked the surrounding blocks,but there was a damn good reason for that:people who loitered around here usually ended up 'the catch of the day',somebody's lunch or dinner.Also,in defiance of the rest of the neighboring blocks,it was spotlessly clean,from the cement facade to the cracked sidewalk and pothole ridden street in front,probably because they generally killed out of the way, and,if not,the blood was hosed off regularly.

They were keeping an eye out for the secondary contact,the back up if Steen failed (which he obviously had),as he was hardly listed in the phone book:a big ugly Wartros demon named Krek.Reddick said he virtually lived in Seventh Circle,which seemed like a pretentious name for what was,in essence,a demon disco.

As they watched,a sleek black sports car pulled up to the curb and parked,placing themselves almost directly in front of the club's main entrance,blocking a view of everything but the large blood red neon sign bearing the name of the joint.

"Is this our guy?"Kelso asked,as both doors of the sports car popped open...and out came the weirdest assortment of freaks he had seen since his sister's wedding.

The driver was a human looking guy with some sort of weird headgear-if a pair of black welding goggles had been mated with wraparound sunglasses-and the guy who got out of the passenger side was scruffy looking,with the worst hair he had absolutely ever seen,and way too much facial hair.

"Those can't be humans,can they?"Kelso asked,shocked,as a man as eerily handsome as scruffy guy was unsettling came out of the back,looking fashionable in designer sunglasses that hid his eyes,but were not full on head gear like the clean cut driver wore.

The woman who got out on the other side was..."Green?"Tony gasped."Definitely demon."

"Good eye,"Reddick hissed sarcastically from the back seat."Stansin demon,to be exact.They like to fuck and they like to fight, and they do both equally well.And the women are worse than the men."

"How so?"Kelso wondered.

"The women have tails.Think of it as a third arm,only flexible and far stronger than it looks.If you dare to fight a female Stansin, watch out for the tail."Reddick then made a strange hissing sort of noise that could have been a sibilant laugh,and probably was.

"What?"Tony demanded,irritated.God,how he hated this smug parasite.

"The hairy one knows he's being watched,"he hissed,still laughing,and Tony looked and confirmed for himself this was true: the guy with way too much facial hair was looking around intensely,as if searching for a sniper.His narrowed green eyes scoured the parking lot several times (there was no way he could seem them,was there?Tony would have sworn he stared straight at him once...),and he was apparently telling the others,as they all looked around.

The hairy guy wasn't actually sniffing the air like a dog,was he?

"I recognize that guy,"Kelso said,pointing towards the guy with the headgear.

Tony stared at him,and realized he was right."Fuck,"he cursed,as the memory clicked into place."That's one of Xavier's people. Scott something."

"Weren't they all injured?"Kelso asked."He looks fine."

Tony continued to curse under his breath,not quite believing the luck."Damn mutants.They can't even die like normal people."

"Everything dies,"Reddick hissed from the back seat."Being a mutant isn't enough."

The handsome guy took the hairy guy by the arm and whispered something in his ear,and with great reluctance Hairy gave up his search.Which was a good thing since he was now in the middle of the street,and looked like he might be headed for the lot.There was something about the way the guy moved that set off alarms in Tony's head:he didn't walk more than he stalked, and he carried himself like a guy with a hundred pounds more muscles than he actually he had.He radiated the rough and ready confidence of a guy who knew he could kick anything's ass,and in fact would like to do so right now."He's muscle,"Tony said,with a jerk of his head."I didn't think Xavier was the type to bring in an outside contractor."

"He's probably a mutant too,"Reddick hissed.

"You know,I heard somethin' about Xavier having a new mutant in his organization last year,"Kelso commented,taking a sip of his latte.

""What kind of mutant?"Tony wondered,as his eyes fell on the pretty boy.Pretty boy,in spite of the way he looked,seemed to ooze with fearlessness:it was confidence squared to infinity.He seemed to have the aura of a man who owned the entire fucking world.Was he a mutie too?

"Some psycho out of Canada with bad hair and a worse attitude."

"The hair fits,"Tony noted."Why was he a psycho?"

"I don't know.I've heard rumors he was a hitman for the government."

"The Canadian government?"Reddick asked incredulously,making that hissing laugh again."Who do they take out hits on? Sweden?"

"I don't know which government,"Kelso conceded."It's just a rumor .But he was bad news either way."

"What's his mutation?"

"Strength,I think.I'm not sure."

"That tracks,"Tony said,nodding in agreement,watching the strange group of mutant men and their demon playmate go inside the club.

"Should we move in and take 'em?"Kelso wondered.

Tony thought about it,sparing a glance at his companions.Kelso was so damn ordinary looking even his own family sometimes mistook him for someone else:his face so round and soft,his hair and eyes so equally pale,he looked truly hideous in the brown suit he was wearing today,like a pipe cleaner man made by a spastic child wearing mittens.He was frightening looking,but not in a way it counted.

That's where Reddick came in.He was an oddly shaped guy,like he was too tall for his own damn body.Everything about him- arms,legs,torso-seemed too long and narrow,while his flesh was too pale and waxen-where Kelso looked washed out,Reddick looked corroded.His hair was oil black and permanently spiky,in a sort of punk cut that made him look like an '80's reject,and his choice of wardrobe-long,tattered army coat,combat boots,jeans held together by stains alone,and old ripped t-shirts (today it was a black one with 'Buzzcocks' printed on it in white letters)-completed the punk theme.The only odd thing-beyond his bad hygiene,and his strange speech impediment (he always sounded like he was hissing,buzzing,or both),and his teeth,which were not only kind of yellow but looked as if they had been fused together,and the fact that he always kept his eyes covered with big black sunglasses-was his walk.He walked on the balls of his feet,and while his heels gave the impression of touching the ground,Tony bet it was an optical illusion.There was something perfectly unsettling about the man,beyond his smell and his general attitude of condescension.Okay,he wasn't a man,he was some kind of demon,but he was also a mercenary,a killer for hire who sometimes did it more for love (of killing) than money.How did he kill?Acid,apparently,but he wouldn't say where it came from or how he used it,he just said,"You'll see."

A rumor he had heard,though,said Reddick had an acid sac at the back of his throat-meaning he literally vomited it on people. That would explain his melted teeth...but how disgusting.

But that tracked too.Reddick was disgusting:he was revulsion personified.

"The hairy one is mine,"Reddick hissed,with a slight buzz that he now knew was a sound of happiness.

"No,we wait for Krek,"he decided,as he was unsure what to make of muscles or the pretty boy,and if he remembered correctly the Scott guy shot things at people.Even with the semi-automatic under his sportscoat and Reddick,he wasn't ready to throw down yet.

"What if it's Krek they're after?"Kelso wondered.

Tony weighed that thought,along with his loyalty to the boss,and what he had been contracted to do."Then Krek's on his own,"he replied,before finally having a sip of his latte.

**

It wasn't really the noise,although it was goddamn deafening:Rage Against The Machine was currently raging from speakers that seemed scattered about the ceiling,at a volume level that could detonate land minds from a distance.He could just about feel it vibrating his internal organs,but hey,at least it was a good song.

The smell was inexcusable,though.Too many demons,most warm blooded,packed into a large room still only meant to fit about half of them,and most of them reeked like various types of noxious fluids and garbage left to rot in the sun.Still,even this bitter,stinky miasma was better than Legion,but not by much.

If the club-obviously a converted warehouse-had windows,they had been painted over (for the vampires,he instantly thought, and knew just how silly a thought that was,true or not).All the light inside was artificial,dim,and blood red,kind of like heating lamps in some fast food joints.And as the four of them came in the door heads instantly turned-all kinds of heads. Humanoid,insectoid,reptiloid,and god knows what-oid;a cavalcade of butt ugly demons,only one or two of which he actually recognized the species of.

Scott,behind him,made some sort of noise,pain/disgust over the volume and type of music,but when he got a good look at the crowd,many of which were now staring at them (did someone forget to put up the 'no humans welcome' sign?),he froze in his tracks,and made another variation of the noise as he gaped back at them,clearly stunned."What the-"

Before he could hear if Scott said the actual 'f' word (if he said 'fudge',Logan knew he'd have to hit him just on principal),a pair of good (Human) looking young women closed in on him from both sides."What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" The blonde one said,slipping her arm through Scott's.

If that hackneyed old line had not been a giveaway,the smell was:vampires.

Logan turned,and,even though he briefly considered letting the vamps have old One Eye,he pressed his fist against the side of the blonde's neck,and popped the claws on his other hand,just so she could see what she was in for.She had grabbed his wrist with surprising strength,but as soon as she saw the nine inch adamantium claws spring out she went rigid with shock. "Left the wood at home,"he admitted."But I'm kinda guessing even a vampire needs its head."

Her Korean vamp friend,who stood on the other side of Scott,was suddenly pulled away violently,head cocked at a rather strange angle,and it only took him a second to see why:Helga had wrapped her slender tail around her neck,and was a single twitch away from snapping it,which might not kill her but would certainly put a cramp in her style.

"Vampire?"Scott echoed incredulously,before laughing."Are you saying you believe in vampires?"

"Ah,he's a dumb one too,"the Korean vamp rasped ruefully,with a pointless grip on Helga's tail.Maybe stupid ones tasted better.

"What the fuck are you?"The blonde spat,her blue eyes as cold as the Arctic tundra.

"The man who's going to take the 'un' out of dead if you don't back the fuck off,sister,"he replied,tensing the muscles in his forearm.

"That will never work as a cool action phrase,"the blonde noted,before slowly removing her arm from Scott and backing off,letting go of his wrist at the last second.As if there had ever been anything she could have done to stop his claws from taking her head off.

The Korean vamp let go of Helga's tail,but instead of letting her go peaceably Helga flicked her tail and sent her spinning away,right into a group of toady looking demons,but at least her neck hadn't been snapped.

While the immediate vampire threat had been dealt with,the rest of the demons had noticed the nice fresh blood on the hoof, and started to converge on them,drool escaping from some of their leering faces.At least he hoped they were faces.

Bob,who had been faintly singing along with the music-he must have liked the song too-stepped forward and took off his sunglasses."We're just plain old demons,"he said,loudly enough to be heard over the music."We don't smell Human,we don't look it.Just ignore us."

The restless,growing mob turned away,slightly confused but otherwise unaware of anything that had transpired.

"What the hell was that all about?"Scott asked.

Logan retracted his claws,and scowled at him."You're welcome."

"What?"He shouted in reply,perhaps thinking the loud music made him misunderstand everything.

"Come on,"Bob said,putting his sunglasses back on."But be alert.Some demons are immune to me."

"I didn't think anything was immune to you,"Logan replied.

He just shrugged."It's rare,but it happens."Bob hung his sunglasses from the front pocket of his pants,and led the way through the smelly,fugly mob,with Helga right behind him.Logan followed,and Scott stuck close behind him.

"You believe in vampires?"Scott repeated,sounding endlessly amused.

"Eat me,"he snarled,thinking he should have let the vampires do just that to Scott.

They made their way through the crowd,past the small chrome bar on the left side of the room (no mirrors,though-no shock there) and closer to what may have been a dance floor,but looked more like a place where epileptic demons went to have mass episodes or engage in some sort of strange liturgical dance.The far more atonal Quarashi song "Stick 'Em Up" started pounding through the surround sound system,feeling like an aural avalanche coming down on their heads,and as much as it abused his sensitive ears,he knew Scott had to be suffering more simply due to the fact that he hated this kind of music,and it made Logan perversely happy.

He wished Jean had come instead,but she had said she wanted to keep an eye on Storm,yet they all knew she was really sticking around the mansion to protect the Professor if need be-after all,she had been the only one who had been able to do anything against Legion before he (and Bob) showed up.But she couldn't say it and bruise Scott's tender ego further.

"Think you can do it,Logan?"Bob asked,shouting over his shoulder at him.

"I'll try,"he shouted in reply,and closed his eyes to block out the visual stimulation,and focus solely on the smells of the room. There was no way to block out the overwhelming noise thudding through the club,but he could shove it aside as he concentrated on the odors.

In a way,the smells painted their own picture:acid hues of yellow and red over a sludgy,ichor green and muddy brown,anoxic blue and sunset orange over a baseline blacker than night.Not all demons smelled bad-Bob,for instance,smelled like electricity and water,and Helga had a sort of dried leaf smell that was not unpleasant.Some demons smelled better than humans,their scents being earthy and almost alluring,in their way.The 'picture' of their scents was far more beautiful than with pedestrian Humans...

Human.

"Got 'em,"he said,concentrating on that thin beige line that represented the Human in here:in spite of its faintness,it still managed to stand out against the vivid palette of scents.He turned towards that line,that invisible thread of odor,and said,"Near the back,southwest corner."

"Wow! Have you ever thought of being a bounty hunter?"Bob said,sounding impressed.

He opened his eyes and scowled at him,but his attention was instantly torn by a high pitched,startled scream from the front of the club.It sounded like a girl.In fact,it sounded like...

"Rogue,"he snapped,instantly heading back towards the doors.

Some demons just weren't moving fast enough for him,so he held up his fist and popped his claws,and the nearest slimy demon blocking his way jumped as if he'd just gotten a cattle prod up the ass."Fuck!"It exclaimed,scrambling quickly out of his way.Many other demons had similar reactions,and he found it much easier to get through the crowd.

Soon he saw he was right:a small young girl,hidden in a long hooded dark green coat,was backed up against the left side wall, trying to avoid a grey demon with an unfortunate skin condition that made it look as if his skin was full of gnarls and burrs, like diseased tree bark.He had backed her up there,and appeared to have a hold of her (gloved) right wrist.

"You don't want to touch me,Mister."He thought he heard her say.

"Hey,bub,get your fucking hands off her,"he shouted,and as the grey demon looked over his lumpy shoulder at him,Logan held out his other fist and popped his claws right in his ugly,mottled face.It wasn't  close enough to plunge right through,but only by a half inch or so.

It got the desired reaction.It flinched and let Rogue go,quickly backing off with his gnarled,claw like hands raised in supplication."Okay,friend,you want her that bad she's yours."

He kept an eye on the thing until it disappeared in the crowd-hadn't he seen an ugly mother like that before in L.A.?-stepping between it and Rogue until he was confident enough to turn his back on them and face her."What the f...hell are you doing here?"He exclaimed angrily,belatedly censoring his language.Technically it was too late,but maybe the music was so loud she didn't hear."I thought you had been evacuated with the rest of the school."

Rogue pouted,looking petulant in a way only teenagers could accomplish without feeling or looking like a total dork."I had been,but I can help.I'm not completely helpless,you know."

"That isn't the point,"Scott said,coming up to stand beside him,in full stentorian mode."This is dangerous-you shouldn't be here."

"I can help,"she insisted again,growing even more petulant.

"Just another demon people,"Bob announced,standing right behind him."Just ignore us and move on."

Rogue's wide blue eyes shot a harsh glance towards Bob."Demon?Hey,I'm not a demon!What are you,some religious nut?"

"How'd you get here,anyway?"Logan asked her,both drawing attention away from Bob and getting to the point.

She lost the pouty look and raised her chin,trying to assume an air of pained dignity,but didn't quite pull it off."I borrowed a car."

"From who?"Scott asked.

Logan read between the lines,and frowned at her."You stole one,didn't you?"

"No,I borrowed it,"she insisted."I wasn't going to keep it."

"Rogue,"Scott snapped,sounding like an uptight father about to flip his lid."You know better than to break the law."

"But I-"

"I don't want to hear it.There is no excuse for that."

"Yes there is,"Logan countered."Sometimes.They like to use the laws to bludgeon us when they can."

Scott looked at him,his lips so thin it looked as if they had disappeared entirely,and if he could actually see his eyes,he bet he'd be glaring at him."At least I know where she got it from."

"Hey,"Rogue exclaimed angrily."Don't blame him!Why are you always blamin' him for everything?"

He looked at Scott curiously."You blame me for everything?"