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field at the point where the Juggernaut had just suddenly turned around, watching as he stomped off west, following his own tracks back in the direction he’d come.
    Phoenix watched him go, wishing more than ever that she could read the Juggernaut’s thoughts. Just for an instant, just to get a clue as to what was driving him. But his helmet effectively blocked any attempts she made, making her feel as if she were staring at a blank wall inside her head every time she tried.
    ‘ ‘What was that all about?’ ’ Rogue asked.
    “Worst case of decision-interruptus I have ever seen,” Hank said.
    Scott shook his head. “Rogue, keep an eye on his path ahead, make sure there isn’t anything else in his path that might cause problems if he decides to plow through it.”
    “Right, boss,” she said. “Back in a jiff.”
    She waved at the Juggernaut as she went over him, then sped off in a green-and-yellow streak.
    X-MCN
    The Juggernaut paid her no attention at all, simply kept walking, one pounding step after another.
    “I’ll report to the Professor,” Jean said to Scott and Hank. “Tell him what happened.”
    Scott only nodded.
    Professor? She focused on Charles Xavier and his dark study, blocking out the warm afternoon around her and sending her thoughts to him.
    Yes, Jean. The Professor’s voice came back clear and strong inside her mind. I can read from your thoughts what happened. I, too, am baffled as to the cause.
    Should we just follow him for the moment, maybe talk to him again?
    Yes, the Professor said. But do not engage him unless you need to do so to save lives. As long as he is content to simply walk, we will minimize the ancillary effects. Engaging him will only result in much greater damage.
    Understood.
    The Professor broke the link in Jean’s mind, leaving a slightly empty sense for a brief instant.
    She turned to Scott and for Hank’s sake spoke aloud. “The Professor wants us to follow Cain, but not try to stop him unless lives are at stake. And if we can, talk to him again.”
    Scott nodded. “All right. We’ll go as soon as Rogue returns.”
    “If you don’t mind,” Hank said, “I’ll wait in the Blackbird with the air conditioning turned up.” He plucked at a long patch of blue fir. ‘ ‘Not the best outfit for this weather, you understand.”
    Gary Service had spent the afternoon in the coolness of his office, staring at his computer, studying everything he could find about the Juggernaut in any online reference he could think of.
    In one account, he discovered that the Juggernaut’s power supposedly came from a large ruby, but the author of the article didn’t know for sure. And the author had no idea where the ruby had come from, or how it gave the Juggernaut his power. Only pointless speculation.
    Another article studied the Juggernaut’s powers and abilities from some of the fights he’d been seen in. That article basically came to the conclusion that the man was unstoppable by just about anyone, and anything, on the planet.
    A third article gave the Juggernaut’s real name, Cain Marko, and that he was stepbrother to the renowned geneticist, Charles Xavier. There were lots of pictures in all the articles, mostly with the Juggernaut fighting against some team called the X-Men or another, and a couple against Spider-Man. But nowhere, in any of the articles, did it mention any weaknesses. In fact, the most common word used to describe him was unstoppable.
    Gary finally gave up, signed off, and headed to the kitchen for some early dinner. His eyes were tired and his back ached from sitting and staring at the computer screen for the entire afternoon.
    If Robert became a second Juggernaut, unstoppable by even powerful mutants like the X-Men, there would be nothing Gary could do. All his years of planning, of being nice to the old man, would be wasted.
    There had to be a way to get Robert back to normal.
    It wasn’t until thirty minutes later, after the cook had fixed him a