Doctor Leonard Samson is an interesting man. He's different from most psychiatrists. To begin with, he has long hair. Secondly, that long hair is green. And third, his long hair is green because his blood contains gamma radiation, which also grants him superhuman strength.

He also doesn't come cheap, something which Warren Worthington has discovered the hard way. But of all the psychiatrists in the world, Doc Samson is the only one Warren knows of that has experience in the field of superheroics.

"I had another dream last night," says Warren.

"Central Park again?" asks Leonard.

"No," replies Warren. "In this dream, I'm the Avenging Angel again."

"Pardon?"

"Before I joined the X-Men, I moonlighted as a superhero on my own," says Warren. "I called myself the Avenging Angel. In this dream, I'm in that position again."

"What happens in the dream?"

"I'm flying, and I see a plane spinning out of control," says Warren. "And somehow, I know that my parents are onboard, and that it's up to me to get them out.

"So I fly towards the plane, and for some reason, the door is open, and I can get in. There are people all around me, screaming, but I ignore all of them. I know exactly which row to go to. The front row. First class. Nothing less for a Worthington, my father would say. So I get to the front row, and I'm expecting to find my parents sitting there. Instead, I only find Candy."

"When you say candy..." says Leonard.

"Candy Southern," replies Warren. "A woman I was..."

"A woman you were involved with?"

"Yeah," replies Warren. "Probably one of my longest relationships."

"Did you love her?" asks Leonard.

"I... I'm not sure, anymore," replies Warren. "I always thought of it as love, but now... now I don't know what it was."

"Let's continue on with the dream," says Leonard.

"Anyway, Candy screams for me to help her, and she knows my name," says Warren. "Which is odd, because we didn't know each other back then. But I take her from her seat and I open the front hatch and leap from the plane with her in my arms and I take flight."

"And the other passengers?"

"I left them," replies Warren. "I don't know why, but I had no reason to try and save them."

"What happens next?"

"I fly Candy to safety, which just happens to be the balcony of my penthouse. I look at her, and I don't see Candy anymore. I see Betsy. She says, 'sit back and enjoy the ride, luv,' and then she kisses me. I close my eyes, and when I open them again, I'm kissing a red demon who starts laughing. The demon throws me over the edge of the balcony, and suddenly, my wings stop working. And then... I wake up."

"Warren, what happened to Candy?" asks Leonard.

"She was... murdered," replies Warren. "For lack of a better term."

"And your parents?"

"Murdered as well."

"I'm starting to see a pattern here," says Leonard.

"What do you think?"

"It could be that you're afraid the people you love will be taken from you," says Leonard. "The demon that Betsy turned into could be a manifestation of that. And I think the rescue attempt could mean that despite your best efforts, the ones you care for still pay the ultimate price. Your old costume could be symbollic of a desire to return to the past."

"Why do you think that?" asks Warren.

"Because you once told me that you miss your original wings," replies Leonard. "Despite the obvious advantages of your new ones."

"Makes sense, I suppose..." mutters Warren. "But I have a feeling there's more to this than that. The demon that Betsy turned into... I think it's related to the darkness from my other dream."

"The X-Men?" asks the construction worker. "Yeah, I know all about the X-Men."

"What do you know about them?" asks the young woman holding a microphone.

"They're mutants. They go around blowing shit up in the city. Before, they used t' run around in bright spandex like the Avengers or the FF, an' sometimes you'd see 'em fightin' together, and sometimes you wouldn't know who was who. But now, now they all run around in black leather with big Xs plastered all over 'em."

"Do you think they're heroes?"

"Hell no. Once, I saw them workin' with Magneto, y'know, the guy from that mutant country. And he's a big time terrorist. Heroes don't let terrorists join them, they're supposed to fight them. I don't see Bin Laden joining the Avengers."

"Why do you think it's related to the darkness?" asks Leonard.

"I can't explain it..." replies Warren. "It's just a feeling."

"Do you think the demon might be related to Betsy?"

"I'm not sure..." replies Warren. "It's like... I think it is Betsy, but I keep telling myself it's not."

"Coincidentally, how are things with Betsy?"

"She's great," says Warren. "Her parents were British aristocrats, so she grew up in an environment similar to me. We have a lot of the same interests, and we just get along great. I feel like I've never been happier with anyone else."

"Warren, I'm you're psychiatrist, not your mother," says Leonard. "If you're having relationship trouble, I'm the one you should talk to about it. It could help with your treatment."

"Treatment? Who said anything about treatment. I'm not psychotic or anything."

"You don't need to be psychotic to receive psychiatric treatment," says Leonard. "Now come on, what's bothering you about Betsy?"

"She just seems really distant lately," says Warren.

"Is this a recent thing?" asks Leonard.

"No... not really," replies Warren. "It's sort of ongoing."

"How long?"

"Well... ever since she got her powers back."

"And when was that?"

"About a year ago, give or take."

"Hmm...."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"I thought you said something..."

"I did," says Leonard. "I said 'hmm.'"

"Oh... right," says Warren.

"X-Men? Is that some kind of weird porn site?"

"No, it's a group of mutant adventurers."

"Oh.... never heard of them."

"What is it about Betsy that bothers you the most?" asks Leonard.

"Wish I could answer that, doc," replies Warren. "But I honestly don't know. It's just a feeling I have."

"Are their problems in the bedroom?"

"No, we're fine in that department," replies Warren. "The sex is amazing. It's just the rest of the time."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Well... we don't seem to talk much," says Warren.

"I don't know many men who would complain about that."

"I know, but before the Professor's death, I was actually planning to propose to her."

"Now?"

"Well, after the Professor's death, I couldn't really do anything. But even now, she still seems distant."

"Could it simply be due to the loss of Charles?"

"Doubtful," replies Warren. "Betsy didn't know the Professor on the same level as most of us did. He was off-planet when she joined the X-Men, and even after he returned, the two of them weren't very close."

"You experienced another recent loss, right?"

"Yeah, Storm," replies Warren. "And while she was closer to Betsy than the Professor was, there was a rift between us because of the fractioning of the X-Men. Betsy doesn't seem to be affected by things like death as much as other people."

"And that worries you?"

"Not really, she's been like that for as long as I've known her," replies Warren. "It comes from having your mind merged with a lethal Japanese assassin."

"......?"

"Don't ask."

"I dunno... I always thought they were bad news. I mean, I saw them turn against the Avengers and the Fantastic Four during that Onslaught thing. But then... they were here just the other day fighting against those aliens who invaded. And they were the only ones here. Where were the Avengers or the Fantastic Four then?"

"I'm worried that she might be cheating on me."

"What makes you say that?" asks Leonard.

"Just her little mannerisms," replies Warren. "I've noticed that she tends to glance at Pyro a lot."

"Refresh my memory..."

"John Allerdyce, former terrorist, tried to kill Senator Kelly once."

"Oh right," says Leonard. "I've read his books."

"But yeah... like during the battle with the Crimson Pirates, she used her shadow powers in a new way."

"Shadow powers?" asks Leonard. Warren gives him a look that says, 'don't ask.' "Sorry, continue."

"Anyway, she used her powers in a new way, and Pyro commented on them, and she said there's a lot you don't know about me or something like that," replies Warren. "And then, she gave him a flirty look that made him blush. I know it's not solid proof, but I know Betsy likes to live dangerously. And Pyro's a former terrorist. The only person on the team who's more dangerous tham him is Sabretooth."

"Well Warren, I think I may have found the problem you're suffering from."

"Lemme tell you something," says the young man with shaggy black hair, goatee, and multiple piercings "Mutants are the future. Genosha? You'll be seeing more nations like that popping up soon. Mutants are gonna start running for office, hell, we might even see a mutant President soon."

"Do you believe the X-Men are heroes?"

"Nah, of course not. They're not heroes because they're above heroics. They've got better things to do than save humanity. Sometimes, the things they do mean that humanity is saved as well. And if that's the case, fine. But mutants don't care. We're superior to you people, you hear me? And pretty soon, mutants are gonna be coming outta the woodwork. We're the new social circle. We're the new minority. And we're growing. Larger and larger. Every one out of five births is a mutant birth. You can't fight the future, people."

"Paranoia...?" says Warren.

"You show all the symptoms of it," replies Leonard. Before he can open his mouth to continue, Warren interrupts him with laughter.

"What's so funny?" asks Leonard.

"I'm sorry doc, but I think you need to learn a bit more about diagnosing," replies Warren. "I'm not paranoid."

"Oh really?" asks Leonard. "You say there's a dark force on the horizon, you say that you think your girlfriend is cheating on you, but you have no solid evidence to back this all up. It's just all based on feelings you have. I'm sorry Warren, but that's paranoia."

"Look... I appreciate you taking the time to see me, but I think I made a big mistake here," says Warren.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," says Leonard. "Paranoia is common with businessmen. Add to it the life of a mutant freedom fighter with romance troubles, and I'm amazed you've been able to cope this long without therapy."

"What are you saying I should do, then?" asks Warren. "Quit the X-Men? Sell my company? Break up with Betsy?"

"I can't tell you what you should do, that's your decision," replies Leonard. "What I can tell you is that you don't have to deal with this on your own. You suffer from paranoia, but you're not the first superhero in the world, and you're far from being the worst case scenario. Have a chat with the Hulk sometime and you'll see what I mean."

Leonard glances up at the clock on his wall, and he shifts in his chair.

"Unfortunately, time's up," he says. "If you would like to schedule another session, speak to my secretary on your way out."

"Paranoia..."

"Yes," says Leonard. "Sorry to say, but that's what you're going through."

"Boy, out of all the original X-Men, don't I get all the lucky breaks," mutters Warren as he exits the office.