Toxic Fumes

                Dylan decides to visit Mingus, without Mingus’s new white shadow, Arthur. The first thing mentioned when Dylan is in Mingus’s room is Rachel, Dylan’s mom, how marijuana was her “totem fume”. Mingus’s room is filled with the fumes of marijuana, and Dylan first fakes smoking, but then he too begins to get himself high. After they discuss music from various artists, Mingus inquires about Heather, and at first Dylan is reluctant to say anything about her, but then relents and says he gave her a back rub. Mingus doesn’t believe that it ended there, and keeps pestering Dylan about it, until Dylan decides to demonstrate to Mingus what happened by giving him a backrub. He admits, during it, that he groped her, demonstrating that as well, but then lies and says that she let him get in her pants. He doesn’t, however, lie so much as to say that she let him have sex with her, but he does lie that she gave him a blowjob. Suddenly they’re giving each other handjobs, and the entire scene is very awkward, especially when Mingus’s father walks into the room, though he either just doesn’t care about what his son does or is too stoned himself to care.

                In the next scene, introduced suddenly as is characteristic of this book, with little lead-up but rather a sudden shift in setting and events, Dylan is walking down the street and is suddenly harassed by two black boys. Then Mingus flies down and hits both of the bullies in the head before flying back up. He’s wearing the Aeroman costume, though he thinks it’s “Arrowman”. He succeeded in doing something Dylan never had, and all because Dylan, being white, was better as bait than as the hero.