"Oh, believe me, I've been called my share, as well. Anybody whose job description involves telling people things they don't want to hear comes in for a little of that." Scott has a feeling this isn't the only reason Arvin Sloane has been called unpleasant names. But whatever might be lurking in the dark corners of the man's history, there's evidence that he has been an effective leader -- and nobody does that without bruising a few egos.

"That's not actually what I meant, though. It's a trait of the whole hero culture, I guess. Love it or mock it. We X-men tend to do both. But, well for instance, when I came here, the Professor gave me the name 'Cyclops.' I didn't like it. It called attention to the one thing about me I had always tried to hide. And besides, you know -- in the story, he's a villain. The Professor told me I'd understand, one day."

He shook his head. "I'm still not sure I do, but that doesn't matter. These kids you've met -- some of them aren't more than fourteen, fifteen. I'm not like the Professor, though. I let them name themselves. What someone wants to call himself, that tells a hell of a lot about them. So, Mr. Sloane. For the sake of argument, you're being re-christened?" Scott raised an eyebrow.