"This is insane," said Hobart. "I've never had an indication of any special powers, let alone power like you've described."
"That's not unusual," said Leo. "Very often there's no indication of any power until they actually manifest themselves."
"What did the Elders tell you exactly?" asked Prue.
"Well," said Leo, "they don't know why but on his thirtieth birthday, Mr. Hobart will suddenly develop upper level demonic powers. Apparently his power will increase rapidly, within days."
"That's pretty rapid," said Piper.
"Too rapid," said Leo. "The human body can't handle that kind of increase so rapidly. When he receives that kind of power so rapidly, he'll be driven insane."
"That's not good," said Piper.
"Wait a minute," said Hobart. "You mean all of this power is going to drive me crazy?"
"Something like that," said Leo. "For some reason, you get it into your head to end the fight between good and evil. With your new power, you begin to vanquish demons left and right. And as you vanquish them, you gain their power, making you even more powerful.
"Eventually you gain the power to enter the underworld. Once there you systematically vanquish one demonic leader after another. There doesn't seem to be any demon that can stand against you. When you're done there's no demon left in the underworld that can control the minor demons still alive."
"That doesn't sound like a bad thing," said Phoebe. "It takes care of most of our problems."
"There's more, isn't there?" Prue asked Leo.
"Yes," said Leo. "Once Hobart finishes in the underworld he returns to the mortal plane. He'll decide that stopping the demons solves only half the problem. Apparently he feels that as long as there is anybody with special powers there will always be danger of evil returning.
"So he starts searching out anyone with special powers. Even innocents who have the most rudimentary powers won't be safe from him. Each victim makes him stronger. No one will be able to stop him."
"So Mal Nosh was telling the truth," said Piper. "He will become a threat to both sides."
"I'm no threat," said Hobart. "Its crazy to think anyone can end the fight between good and evil."
"That's the point," said Leo. "By then you are insane. You're convinced you can do it. You'll believe that once both sides are wiped out, evil will no longer be present and paradise will return to Earth."
"We can't let that happen," said Prue.
"Isn't that what Mal Nosh said?" asked Phoebe.
"The Elders are divided," said Leo. "Some think Hobart has to be killed in order to prevent this disaster."
"They can't do that," protested Piper. "No matter what they may have foreseen, he's an innocent right now. He hasn't done anything. They can't just kill him. That would be murder."
"That's what most of the Elders are saying too," said Leo. "Even the ones who feel that he should be killed don't like it. But they don't know what else to do."
"That's simple," said Piper. "I'll make a binding potion that will bind his power. Without his power he won't be a threat even if he is insane."
"That won't work," said Leo. "Right now, he has no powers. There's nothing to bind."
"What about a power stripping potion?" asked Phoebe.
"Same problem," said Leo. "There's nothing to strip away."
"And once there is," said Prue, "its too late. He'll already be insane."
"That's the problem," said Leo. "By the time anyone can do anything about it, there won't be anything we can do. There may be no choice. In order to protect everyone, there may be no choice but to kill Mr. Hobart."