Runaway Home - Part 2 ~ Chapter 7
Xavier sits in his wheelchair, wrists tied to the armrests. A high-tech band is wrapped around Xavier's head. The room is dark and cramped, only a single door in front of him. Xavier closes his eyes and tries to focus, using his power to reach out, when— The headband buzzes. Xavier jolts as sharp pain fills his skull. Chuckling off-screen. Xavier opens his eyes to see Stryker.
"I call it the Neutral Inhibitor..." Stryker strolls into the cell, followed by Yuriko. He touches his head. "...It keeps you out of here."
"William."
"Please, Xavier, don't get up."
"What have you done with Scott?"
"Don't worry. I'm just giving him a little re-education. But you know all about that, don't you?"
It takes every bit of Xavier's strength just to form a coherent thought. "You wanted me to cure your son, William. But mutation is not a disease. It's..."
"...You're lying! You were more frightened of him than I was."
Yuriko cracks her knuckles. Her breathing becomes erratic. Yuriko's expression slowly changes from a blank slate, to one filled with emotion. Xavier eyes her, sensing something.
Stryker continues, "...You know, just one year after Jason returned from your school, my wife, unhinged by constant contact with him, took a power drill to her left temple in an attempt to bore out the images he was projecting into her mind. My boy, the great illusionist." Yuriko begins to shake her head slightly, as if awakening from a daze. She looks around the room, at her hands...confused. Xavier notices.
"For someone who hates mutants, you certainly keep strange company."
Stryker looks at Yuriko, sees her slowly 'waking up'. He's surprised, even amused by Xavier's observation.
"They serve their purpose...for now."
He then removes a vial of yellow liquid from his pocket and approaches Yuriko. The back of Yuriko's neck is revealed, as Stryker places two drops on a circular scar. As the liquid sinks in, Yuriko's breathing steadies. She becomes calm again. Stryker whispers into her ear. She nods, and leaves the room. A look of realization and horror fills Xavier's face.
"You arranged the attack on the President."
"And you didn't even have to read my mind. You know, I've been working with mutants as long as you have, Xavier, and the most frustrating thing I learned is that nobody really knows how many even exist...or how to find them... Except you," Stryker holds up the vial.
"Unfortunately, this little potion won't work on you, will it?" Stryker backs up, and puts the vial back in his pocket. "No, you're much too powerful for that. Instead, we'll go right to the source." The door behind him opens, revealing a grotesque shell of a man, shrivelled and emaciated, sitting in a wheelchair. Syringes and tubes run from his head into clear containers on the back of his chair, continuously collecting the yellow fluid from his spinal column. Yuriko and a guard named Smith wheel the man into the room.
"Allow me to introduce Mutant 143."
Xavier looks at Mutant 143's face. One bright blue eye and one bright green eye...and a giant scar running across his forehead.
"The fluid extracted from his brain acts as a controlling agent. But that's just the beginning."
Xavier looks closer at 143, then recognizes him.
"Jason...? My God, William...this is your son. What have you done to him?"
Stryker looks at Mutant 143, shaking his head. "No, Charles. My son is dead." Stryker and the others turn to exit. "Just like the rest of you." The door slams shut. 143 lifts his head and focuses on Xavier, who suddenly gasps in pain.