As Cyclops drove me down to Dr. Strange's Greenwich Village sanctorum, he started to whine about how all he ever does is chauffeur me around all the time. I explained to him that every one has a purpose and that he should take comfort that he knows his. I also offered that service was the highest calling in life and that he should take pride in his humility. I think he bought it.

Strange's manservant, Wong, greeted us at the door. Wong was polite enough, but as he led us to the Ritual Chamber, I scanned his mind. It turns out that when no one else is in the house, Wong likes to try on Clea's outfits. No harm in that I suppose so I'll keep his secret safe. Besides, it can always be useful to have a little something on someone.

When Cyclops and I entered the chamber, Strange was just wrapping up some Sorcerer Supreme incantation or other. After he finished his last "abra-ca-dabra," he turned to us.

"Ah, Professor Xavier. Good to see you again."

"And you Stephen. How are things?"

"Good enough, but I suppose this isn't a social call?"

"That's right. One of my students, Storm, has been acting rather odd lately. Some of us are concerned that she might be possessed by some kind of demonic force. Can you help?"

"Of course! They don't call me the Master of the Mystic Arts for nothing, you know. Do you have any personal object of hers?"

I looked over at Cyclops. He looked rather uncomfortable. I fixed him with a hard stare. I could see him squirming. I raised one eyebrow. Finally he threw up his hands and pulled a pair of thong panties from his jacket pocket.

"I wasn't going to do anything with them!" he insisted. I just rolled my hands as he sheepishly handed them to Dr. Strange. Stephen laid them on a pedestal and called upon his Eye of Agamatto. As the gold clasp opened and bathed the silken undergarments in an eerie yellow light, a weird mist began to fill the room.

Suddenly a crack of lightening shot around the chamber, bouncing off the walls until finally shattering an ancient idol. A rip in the fabric of space formed where the bolt struck and a giant white furred monster with fiery red eyes and no mouth sprang out.

"Xemnu the Titan!" Strange yelled.

In my mind I heard a deep growling voice say, "Yes Defender, I have returned and now I will have my revenge! First I will destroy you and then that accursed Hulk!"

Flashing psionic bolts blasted from the huge creature's head towards Dr. Strange. He quickly raised his hands and wiggled his fingers. Two red energy disks formed just in time to catch the bolts which were diffused in a shower of bright sparks. The monster then swung out with fearsome claws. Strange barely ducked out of the way in time.

I reached out with my mind, gripping his consciousness in a tight psionic vise. The beast turned to me and I could feel the awesome power of his mind fighting back. Cyclops let fly with a tremendous optic beam that slammed hard into the monster's chest. As he reeled back, Dr. Strange used a minor spell to push a the fallen pedestal behind Xemnu's legs.

The monster fell over backwards, into the still open rip in space and time. As he quickly shrunk away, Dr. Strange quickly wove another spell to seal the fissure.

"Well, wasn't that interesting," he said.

"Indeed," I answered. After a bit of an awkward silence I continued. "So . . anything about Storm?"

"Yes. I can tell you with absolute certainty that she is not possessed by any kind of a demonic being. There is nothing extra-dimensional about what she is going through."

"I see," I said, unable to keep the disappointment from my voice. Well, at least the possible answers are being narrowed down. We shall have to see what tomorrow brings.