"So did you go back to Earth, or someplace else? Drake has...entire sections of the Lab for his experiments, but I think he has some way to compress physical reality. Do I understand that? Oh hell no," Xander said, half-chortling to himself. "I feel lucky I understand my own magic. Among other things."

Not that he really wanted to go into those 'other things', either. Self-consciously, he rubbed at his right wrist.

"But your luck has changed since then, right? At least with gin rummy?" Sure, Xander will look on the bright side...or he'll try. "I mean, the Monopoly game deserved it. By questionable virtue of being what it was!"

That's Xander's story, and he's going to stick to it.