author: Logan Berry
Summary: Xavier meets with his old friend Lewis Williams to discuss Kaylan's condition. But is Lewis hiding something?
Rating/warning & pairing: PG-13 language
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to any Marvel Characters. Kaylan O'Connor, Lewis Williams, Korrigan Tweed and Mist and Thor are fictional characters and are owned by the above author.
Feedback very welcome
"Good-night Mr. Williams."
"Good-night Scott, and thank you for the tour, it has been most enlightening."
"My pleasure. 'Night professor'." Scott nodded and headed for the door.
"Good-night Scott, and thank you for taking the time to show Lewis around. I'll see you tomorrow."
The heavy oak door closed with a solid thud as Charles made his way across the study to the side-board that held a collection of crystal-cut decanters and spirit glasses.
"Whisky Lewis?"
"Yes please, that would be nice." Lewis Williams made himself comfortable in the large leather sofa. His mind was filled with the thoughts of what he had seen that evening in the 'School for Gifted Children'. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined such a place existed and that his old friend, Charles Xavier had accomplished his long-time goal of helping young mutant children. It also amazed him that Charles had managed to keep such a marvellous place hidden from the public gaze for so long. But his admiration and awe were gradually extinguished as the spectre of long-suppressed memories passed over his mind. Charles joined him, handing him his drink and positioning himself opposite. Lewis smiled, trying to regain his composure pushing the memories back into a dark corner.
"You truly have achieved miracles here Charles." Williams began.
"Thank you Lewis, it has taken many years but I think we now have a wonderful school and I am very proud of my students." Xavier beamed with an inner light at the thought of his 'special' family.
"You know, I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for my daughter. I spoke to her on the phone last night from her Aunt's" Lewis said, "She didn't say much, but then she never does." he muttered. "She spoke highly of you Charles, but then you did always have a closer bond with her that she ever did with me." A look of dejection briefly passed over Williams' face at the thought of his partial estrangement from his only child.
Charles felt more than a little embarrassed, but knew to some extent it was true. After Jennifer's death, Lewis had thrown himself physically and mentally into his work, spending almost every waking moment caught up in some work related activity, board meetings or jetting off to some distant country to arrange take-overs. He virtually lived in his office; not wanting to return to the place that held so many memories of his dead wife. Kaylan had been left alone in the family's town house, with only a nanny and house staff for company; too young to understand grief, but old enough to feel rejection.
Charles, understanding the sense of abandonment the loss of a parent could bring and seeing Lewis lock himself away in his work, had taken up the task of helping the 6 year old through this traumatic period of her life; easing her mind with gentle thoughts and feelings. It was then, without notice or explanation that he had arrived at the house one afternoon to be told by the house-keeper that Kaylan and her nanny had been sent to Switzerland. She was to be taught at a prep school for girls, where she remained until returning home at the age of 19.
Charles never went back to the house after that day. He had hoped for a long time that Lewis would contact him to explain, but the call never came. He had often though of them both, but only in fleeting moments. His only knowledge of the family coming from newspapers or the frequent TV reports of the growing Williams business empire. He had resigned their friendship to a distant memory and moved on with his own career.
Months turned into years, years to decades and now here they sat once more; the two middle-aged men indelibly linked by the love for one child. The night that Lewis had called him had been a surprise to Charles; it would have been all too easy to turn away from the man who had shunned him all those years ago, but he could not. Kaylan still meant a great deal to him and now he had to face one of the most daunting tasks of his life.
"But we both know showing me this wonderful place was not the real reason for inviting me here tonight, was it Charles?" Williams added sombrely, shaking Charles' from his thoughts.
Charles shook his head. "Now comes the difficult part". "No Lewis it was not." He sighed. "First of all I have to ask you, do you know of any one who would wish to harm you or your family?"
"HA!" Lewis let out a sharp laugh. "Of course there are Charles! I'm a business man, I didn't get where I am to day by pussy-footing around. I take over businesses, there are bound to be a few depressed managers and disgruntled employees wanting my head on a plate."
"But can you think of any recently that would have cause someone to attack you through Kaylan?"
"No" his brow creasing in thought, "No, I don't think so, but my most recent acquisition in Japan was a bit messy; managing director committed suicide, threw himself under the Bullet Train in Tokyo, honour and all that." Lewis took a sip of his whiskey. "Bad affair, but we arranged to take care of the family, I'm not completely heartless Charles, no-matter how the press paint me."
Charles knew this to be true; Lewis' hard-nosed exterior and focused business mind; a result of driving himself to the limit for years, concealed the genuinely caring spirit of the man who's donations to charity and investment in health-care where equally renowned.
"So you don't think anyone in the business world arranged this attack?"
"No, definitely not."
But Charles could sense there was more to Lewis' adamant tone; there was something he wasn't telling. A feeling of guilt and betrayal emanated from Charles' guest, but he proceeded with his questions.
"Lewis I think there maybe more to this attack than there seems at first glance." Charles continued, "One question I want to ask you, what made you suspect the men following Kaylan were mutants?"
Lewis swallowed hard; the spectre rose again. "I...err...I...don't know, I...err...just kind of guessed from Kaylan's description, when she called me."
Charles' eyes narrowed, there was definitely something not right here; Lewis was suddenly caught off guard by his question.
"So it was just a guess, nothing more?" he pressed.
"Yes, they sounded strange and shifty and I just...." He trailed off, trying to push aside the long distant memory with a fabrication. Charles winced at his friends comment. "I'm sorry Charles, that's a presumption I shouldn't have made."
"No Lewis you shouldn't, its assumptions like that which have resulted in the human-mutant disturbances we see on the news. I thought you would have known better."
Lewis hung his head at Charles scathing remark. It was true, he had grown up with Charles and accepted his mutant powers from an early age, but as the years passed and their separation grew, he too had been coloured by biased news reports and his own painful experience.
"Well it turns out your assumption was correct." Charles went on, not wishing to make Lewis feel awkward. "The two men who attacked Kaylan were indeed mutants, and powerful ones at that. They escaped before my team had time to apprehend them, but we have found evidence of their involvement in other attacks. Kaylan was very lucky the x-men were there. You know she was very brave. She managed to lock herself in the bathroom, that's where my team found her."
"She always was fast on her feet." Lewis replied with a chuckle.
Charles sat back in his wheelchair, the words to tell Lewis about his daughter forming in his mind. He took a sip of brandy, taking solace in it's warmth as it trickled down his throat.
"There is more, something I have not even discussed with Kaylan yet. I needed to speak with you first. One of the team noticed something about her, something unusual."
"Like what?" Lewis leaned forward in concern.
"Her scent."
"Her scent? What you mean like her perfume?"
"No, her body scent...her pheromones. He has the ability to detect them."
"What is he, a dog!"
"No, but he does have the senses that many animals posses; one of them being smell. He was overwhelmed by Kaylan's scent. So much so, it concerned me greatly and I had Jean Grey our biologist, run a few tests on her."
"What kind of tests?" Flashes of Kaylan as a young child; her big tear-filled blue eyes gazing at him through the window of an isolation ward leapt into his mind and his heart pounded.
"Blood test, Lewis. We analysed her blood."
"And what did you find?" he snapped.
That sense of guilt hovered around Charles again. "There is no easy way to tell you this Lewis so I'll be blunt. Kaylan is a mutant."
"WHAT!! NO...that can't be...your wrong!!" The genie was finally out of the bottle. The dam of denial finally burst with the weight of truth. Lewis tried to feign surprise.
"No Lewis," Charles said calmly, "I'm afraid I'm not, she is a mutant."
Lewis slumped back into the chair, a myriad emotions playing out on his face; anger, fear, hurt.
"There is more..."
"Oh god what else?" he whispered but he knew what was coming.
"The gene which gives her her mutancy has been suppressed."
"What the hell does that mean?" Lewis raised his voice becoming increasingly more distressed but not, as Charles thought, by what he was hearing; he already knew.
"It means that at some point, possibly when she was very young, someone or thing physically manipulated her DNA to suppress the mutant gene, stopping her from developing her mutant powers, I'm sorry Lewis. Has she ever had any medical procedures or tests done?"
"No, no I'm sure." He snapped his eyes darting from side to side as he thought of his daughter and her long concealed passed.
Charles felt the sense of discomfort and fears grow stronger in his guest. He was sure he was hiding something. It would be so easy to probe Lewis' mind; to glean what information he required. But, Charles Xavier could not pillaged another's thoughts, not without consent, it was against everything he stood for. If Lewis had something to share, he hoped his friend would come to him willingly.
He sat in silence for a moment, watching the expression on his friend's face. He had seen that expression so many times before; that look of fear and sheer incredulity when a parent discovers their child would never grow up the way they had always dreamed. Charles knew all he could do was be there for him.
Lewis took a gulp of whiskey. The secret that he had kept hidden in the depths of his mind had finally come back to haunt him. His mind whirled; thoughts chaotically cascading one after the other. He felt sick. His heart raced. What had he done...
15 years previous - Kaylan at 21 years old.
"What in god's name do you think your doing!" The door to the bio-containment lab crashed open, setting off the gas-release alarm.
Two figures in haz-mat suits spun round in shocked surprise.
"Lewis, what the hell! You shouldn't been in here!" The muffled voice of Korrigan Tweed exclaimed from inside one of the suits.
"Like hell I should!" Lewis bellowed.
Tweed, moving as fast as he could in the restrictive suit, bustled Lewis Williams through the door of the laboratory closing the containment door behind him. Several white coated figures were already rushing about the room in an attempted to clear the facility of any contamination Lewis had caused.
"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH" William's screamed pushing Tweed away from him.
"Lewis, what the hell's wrong with you?" Tweed shouted, pulling off the hood and unzipping the suit, "Have you gone mad? We could have been working on a virus or something, you could have been contaminated."
"Yes but your not working on viruses are you Korry? I know exactly what you're up to!"
"I beg your pardon Lewis, what are you talking about?"
"Don't play the innocent with me. Your research Korrigan, I know what your doing and it's not gene therapy."
Tweed's blood froze, "What does he know?" He threw the suit onto a nearby chair and grabbing Lewis by the arm, dragged him into an adjoining lab. Trying to remain calm, Tweed closed the door behind him. As Lewis paced like a caged tiger between the benches. "Now what's all this about Lewis? Why on earth have you come bursting in like this?"
"You know why, I trusted you Korry, I respected you and you lied to me." Lewis' voice shock with penned up anger.
"Lied, about what?" Tweed asked smoothly, brushing his hair back from his sweat-flecked forehead.
"About your research, its nothing to do genetic illnesses is it? You're doing mutant research!"
The colour drained from Tweed's face, but he kept the calm mask in place.
"No, no" He laughed, "we're doing nothing of the sort, who on earth gave you that idea?"
"We had an appointment remember, you were late. I waited in your office, you didn't even have the decency to hide them, I saw the documents on your desk. Government work!, x-gene project! YOU'RE A LIAR." Lewis yelled, slamming his fist into the lab counter.
"You were snooping? How dare you look through my private papers? I could have you arrested." Tweed screamed back.
"No Korry I wasn't snooping, I have every right, and I don't have to remind you who paid for this facility." Williams snarled, fixing him with an angry stare. "I've given you every thing you've ever asked for, without question, and I can damn well take it away."
"Don't you dare threaten me; I've made you a tidy penny out of this research, your pharmaceutical companies would have gone bust years ago without the drugs I've developed."
"But it's the research you're not doing for me that I'm talking about." Lewis growled "Exactly who are you working for?"
"I've told you I'm not working for any one." Tweed tried to continue the charm offensive.
"Bull-shit!! I have friends in high places Tweed, I can find out you know."
Tweed's face broke into a twisted smile "Ha! Do you honestly think those kind of people are traceable."
Williams spun on his heals to face his so-called friend. "So you admit it then, you are doing other work?"
There was no point continuing the pretence any longer, "Yes, yes, I am, I'm sorry you've had to find out this way Lewis, but like I give a damn what you think." Tweed spat "The pittance of a research grant your organisation gives me is pathetic compared to the x-gene project, I don't know how I've managed to stick it out here all this time."
"Then why don't you get out, and take your filthy covert research with you." Lewis shouted.
"Oh no, it doesn't work like that Lewis." Tweed sneered "We need your facility as a cover, we're in the public gaze and your up to your neck in it and there's no getting out."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lewis frowned.
"Exactly that, just what do you think the press will say when they find out the multi-million dollar business man Lewis Williams CEO; defender of the pharmaceutical industry, donator of hospitals and clinics, is found to be carrying out secret mutant research? They would have a field-day"
"Are you threatening to blackmail me Korry? Because if you are my lawyers will tear you apart."
"Do you think I'd be stupid enough not to have a contingency plan Lewis? Your name is on numerous documents and your links to this place are public knowledge. It is you who wouldn't stand a chance in court."
"Are you alright Dr Tweed.?" The pale grey face of a young man appeared around the door.
"Yes, Mist, I'm fine there's no problem here."
"Alright sir, but we'll be just outside if you need us."
Lewis, stalled by the intrusion turned away, considering Tweed's threat. "Then I'll close the place down Korry, sell it off."
"And just who will carry out your precious gene therapy then?"
"I'll find some one" Lewis answered in a low voice.
"You'll find no-one. No-one with the experience I have. Just who do you think fixed little Kaylan, Lewis? Poor little thing, full of mutant DNA; a sick infection that her wonderful father bestowed on her! Who can save her from a life of shame? Oh, that's right, uncle Korrigan. You weren't complaining when I cured her were you?"
"You? You did what? A mutant, no, you monster! What did you do to her?" Lewis felt his heart miss a beat. The blood rushed to his head. What awful game was Tweed playing?
"I cleansed her, stopped her from becoming a freak."
"But you said, you said she had her mother's illness."
"Yes, yes, her mother, how sad, dead before her time. Well at least she didn't suffer, well not too much. It took a few painful procedures though; she was a real screamer. Thanks to her and her genetic donation, I developed the cure-all, the holy grail of DNA manipulation, X-block, a way to freeze mutant genes."
"YOU EVIL BASTARD! My wife, my daughter, I'm gonna kill you!" The anger and shock at Tweed's flagrant admission drove Lewis over the edge. He flew at Tweed grabbing him by the throat, trying to choke the life from him. Tweed yelped, his cry for help gagged by Williams' fingers pressing on his windpipe.
Everything he had believed in for over fifteen years was a lie. His wife's death; it could have been prevented. Kaylan's hereditary illness; didn't exist. Tweed had used them both as guinea-pigs for some perverted power trip. Their entire friendship was built on deceit and subterfuge and he no longer knew the man he held by the neck. Tweed, surprised by Lewis' un-characteristic aggression struggled in his grip trying to free himself.
The sudden flare of bright white light stunned the two battling men for a moment and Lewis released his grip slightly as he was temporarily blinded by the flash. He heard the clatter of feet and loud voices and then, without understanding what was happening found himself lifted off his feet as a searing pain hit his chest. He was flung into the air, propelled across the lab counter, sending flasks and Petri dishes smashing to the floor. The wall stopped him with a bone crunching thud as his body smacked into it. Sliding into a pile on the floor, his vision filled with silver sparks and he struggled to breath.
"Thank you Thor." He heard Tweed's whispered voice and tried to focus his swimming vision across the room. A young blonde-haired man stood next to the doctor staring at Lewis with large green eyes; a strange yellow haze hovering around his tightly clenched fists. The grey-complexioned man stood with his hand on Tweed's back and arm, helping him over to where Lewis lay.
"You stupid old fool!" Tweed spat hoarsely as he rubbed his neck. "Did you think I would carry out this work without some kind of protection?"
Lewis tried to push himself up but the pain in his chest made him gag and fall back. He lay there looking up at the gloating Tweed.
"Don't you ever challenge me again Lewis. It is I who runs this place not you and there is nothing you can do about. If you try to go to the press or the police you will get more of the same and next time I'll let Thor finish you off."
"I don't care what happens to me Korrigan!" Lewis' voice trembled.
"Oh, no? Well what about your dear little Kaylan? I'm sure Mist here would love to spend a little time with her."
"You wouldn't!" he exclaimed.
"Try me."
Tweed had called his bluff. He could not risk Kaylan being drawn into Tweed's sordid research again and the thought of one of those thugs having their way with her was beyond thinking about. He slumped to the floor physically and mentally drained. Tweed smiled at Lewis' obvious surrender.
"Alright Korrigan, you win." He mumbled, wincing with pain. "Stay away from Kaylan! I'll do as you ask; I'll keep my mouth shut, but only for my daughter's sake."
"Good, I'm glad you see the sense of it all Lewis."
"But what will happen to her?"
"Oh nothing, she's fine. I told you I fixed her. Her mutant gene will never resurface, it's held in suspension, she'll be normal."
Lewis closed his eyes as tears filled them. He sighed with relief; as long as she was safe nothing else mattered. He would keep his mouth shut; try to forget what Tweed had revealed.
"I want you out of here; I don't care what your sponsors say. You have a week." Lewis growled trough gritted teeth.
"Now, now Lewis, no ultimatums." Tweed sneered, "But yes, I think your right, its time we moved on from this little hovel. I'll grant you that one wish. But don't think your getting off the hook so easy. They'll be watching you." He waved a hand in the direction of the two young men. "And if they see anything they don't like..." Tweed trailed off; there was no need to finish the threat.
"Lewis, are you alright?" Charles' voice snapped him back into the present. His hands were clammy around the whiskey glass and he could feel beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Yes" he whispered and coughed to clear his throat. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit surprised. I think I need to go home and think about all you've said." He tried to smile.
"Yes" Charles added, "You're probably right." Placing the brandy glass on the coffee table he turned and wheeled towards the door. Lewis pushed himself from the sofa and followed.
"Thank you for a lovely evening Charles. It was good to see you again."
"I'm sorry it was under such circumstances though Lewis."
Lewis only nodded as he opened the door. "Don't worry Charles, I'll show myself out. The car is waiting out front."
The ride home seemed to take an eternity; Lewis' mind wandered through that awful day over and over again. But as the car turned into the drive of his town house he was resolved to put right the mistake he had made all those years ago.