Free The Jewels of Cyttorak by Unknown Author Page B

to the fact of their existence. He had no idea of the current roster. The Professor could use that to his advantage.
    “As it happens, you are the second call I’ve gotten today regarding my stepbrother. Are you familiar with Dr. Henry McCoy?”
    “The blue-furred scientist, yes?” Service said after a moment. “Used to be with the Avengers or the Fantastic Four or somesuch.”
    “The Avengers,” the Professor clarified. Hank had, in fact, served a lengthy tenure with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. “He still helps them occasionally, and he and some others have been monitoring the Juggernaut’s recent movements. When next he checks in, would you object if I put him in touch with you?”
    “Certainly,” Gary Service said, the energy and hope returning clearly to his voice. “The Avengers stopped dozens of threats in the past. Perhaps they can stop my brother, too.”
    “Excellent,” the Professor said, and got the exact address for the Service estate.
    “Thank you, Dr. Xavier.”
    “No,” the Professor said. “I think I need to be thanking you for calling me. And let’s hope we can help your brother before he becomes like Cain.”
    “I hope so, too,” Service said.
    The Professor hung up the phone and turned to stare into the low fire. Gary Service had answered a few questions, but had raised a great many more. And the possibility of two Juggernaut-like creatures roaming this planet made the Professor shudder, even in the warm room.
    As the sun set, the tourists and party life took over the warm, humid streets of the French Quarter like a wall of soldiers suddenly ordered to charge the enemy. The conflicting sounds of a dozen jazz and blues bands fought for attention up and down Bourbon Street from open cafes and smoke-filled bars. Tourists pushed and laughed and walked, all fighting the battle to have a good time in a city known for good times.
    The heat of the day still smothered the streets of the Quarter and the smells of human sweat mixed with smoke and open-air cooking. The restaurants all over the Quarter were filled to capacity with customers and the wonderful aroma of Cajun cooking drifted in and out of the shadows like a phantom, grabbing hungry' people in a seductive, addictive embrace.
    Remy LeBeau paid no attention to the crowds or the wonderful smells filling the tight sidewalks and spilling out into the narrow streets. He stood silently, tucked back in the shadow of a deep doorway, watching the street where the night before his “ghost” friend had appeared.
    A ghost with a laugh like a barking dog.
    Down the block tourists laughed and walked through Jackson Park, their very numbers protecting them from the dangers that would lurk there later in the night. The private club called the Bijou let people in and out with amazing regularity. Some Remy recognized, most he
    X-MEK
    didn’t. They all seemed happy with their evening.
    And no one saw him, as he wanted it to be.
    Remy didn’t even want his “ghost” to see him.
    Remy knew there had been no ghost. Sure, the guy had disappeared right under his fingers, but that trick could be pulled a dozen ways. In his time with the X-Men he had seen a lot stranger things than that.
    No, the guy who did his disappearing trick had a reason to do it beyond trying to scare a tourist or two. And Remy figured it was worth a few hours of his time to figure out that reason if he could.
    Later, after the city quieted down, he’d pay a visit to Mr. Toole’s headquarters. But for the party hours of the evening, he was just going to stand in the shadows and watch and wait for a ghost.

    X-Men?
    Professor Xavier’s clear call formed in Jean Grey’s mind like a voice beamed directly into the center of her mind.
    At the moment, she, Scott, and Hank were drifting about a thousand feet above the Juggernaut, sitting comfortably in the Blackbird, as the behemoth pounded through the night toward the west. Rogue was about twenty miles ahead of Cain, making sure his