Mogul takes a drag on the doobie and holds the smoke in his lungs. Then slowly exhales. "What if the world was ending, and somebody gave you a machine that could save it? Only the machine required...special fuel. Like...gasoline with lots of lead in it. Or..." He takes another drag, holds it, exhales. "Or people."
Everyone in the auditorium hangs on his every word. Especially Hericane, who's still hovering overhead, glowing with power--and Stalwart, whose eyes are as big as hubcaps all of a sudden. The muscles of his jaw work under the skin as he grinds his teeth; the list of victims is crumpled in his fist.
"What would you do?" Mogul holds both hands out with palms facing up, like the trays of a scale. "Give the machine the people it needs? Or let the world end, in which cas
