Title: Babel Fish
Author/Artist: Blue Stem Cell
Universe: Marvel (Alternate Universe)
Rating: 16 +
Genre: Drama/Action/Romance Sub Plot
Summary: "No more Mutants." Three little words and more than 90% of the mutant population lost their powers. Nearly a year later, a British schoolboy, suffering from constant migraine destroys a part of his school and the first new mutation is registered. But just what is his power?

Disclaimer: I own nothing by Marvel or Douglas Adam's.

Authors note at end.

Chapter 27: A Pretty Hazy Notion

Whispers of knowledge about Douglas Ramsey's life, his mutation and his death all collected inside Jonathon's mind. The connection to the alien known as Warlock made him collapse to his knees, the bond the two friends shared and how this ultimately affected his boy.

Now he knew why S.W.O.R.D wanted to investigate his teenage son, the parts of him that were not of Earth origin at least.

And why The Facility wanted him back.

The light dimmed and the girls stepped back, leaving Jonathon a moment to recover his breath.

"We may have…we may have done something silly." They spoke quietly and Jonathon swallowed hard as he got to his feet. It was hard not to shake after such an assault on the mind but somehow he managed it with a degree of decorum.

The girls looked at each other, the middle child biting her lip in worry. "We gave him a birthday present and lied to him. We didn't know he would react like that."

"Like what?"

The girls glanced at each other before informing Jonathon precisely what had happened when they gave Leeland their birthday present to him. How he had fitted on the carpet and the goggles had begun to burn into their brother's skin.

"The institute likes to keep old artifacts. We were sure they had once belonged to Cypher or Warlock."

"So why the lie?" Jonathon asked turning to glance over his shoulder and at the nearing voices of teenage boy's. Perhaps they were looking for the girl's?

"We wanted him to trust us." They said almost sadly and Jonathon couldn't help but smile apologetically at them.

"If you want him to trust you, then don't lie to him. If there's one thing that boy can't stand, it's liars." He said with a hint of regret, knowing that his relationship with son had been a little sour the past few years. The last few months certainly hadn't helped that.

Suddenly, the sound of snapping twigs and a slur of swear words made Jonathon tense and the girls glance over their shoulders. Through the clearing stepped the scruffy little warlock boy.

Brian swayed on his feat, his hands clutched around a bottle of dark substance and a rolled up cigarette teetering in the corner of his mouth. Looking upwards he squinted before his dark blue eye's widened dramatically. "Uncle Jonny?" He asked stupidly and the mercenary fairly growled. He stalked forward, grabbing his idiot of a godson by the elbow and raising the bottle to his nose. The sharp tang of whisky and coke assaulted his senses and he was sure the boy had poured gin in there too.

"I told you to go home Brian Sier." He said releasing the boy with a disapproving frown. The warlock scowled and gave a roll of his shoulders before taking a deep drag on the cigarette in his mouth. Jonathon arched an eyebrow as the scent of a tobacco mixed with something else wafted into the cold nights air.

"Mah best friend's eighteen. One last shindig in the States, then ahm outta 'ere. Ah promise."

"Your Mam must be going mad with worry-"

"Well mah Mam's not 'ere, is she." He snapped back, the cold air sobering him slightly but doing nothing for his stinking temper. "An' you shouldn't be here either." He frowned, looking up at his godfather who should have been sat rotting in a jail and not out in the open. Not that he wasn't glad to see him, just a little perplexed as to what he was doing in the grounds of the school and wearing what looked suspiciously like new Stark licensed gear.

"No." Said a surprised voice from the other side of the clearing and two of them looked up. "Yah really shouldn't be 'ere." Leeland said quietly, glancing between his father and the triplets.

"Hello, Dad." He said quietly, a hand coming up to self-consciously rub at his ears. From behind him Julian cleared his throat. "Surprise…" He said lamely before the girl's presence caught his attention. "Oh." He gulped as the triplets crossed their arms over their chests and arched an eyebrow in a very good impersonation of Ms. Frost.

Leeland glanced at the girls, shuddered and turned back towards his father.

Jonathon walked forward, taking his son's chin between his fingers and examined his ears. The boy pressed his lips into a thin line as his father brushed his fingers past his ears and was careful not knock the temporary hearing aids. Leeland pulled free from his father's grasp before motioning with his head to a little way over.

His friend's watched them go and he could just make out Julian questioning what the girls were doing there.

"None of your business, Keller." Was the last thing he heard before he turned his full attention towards his father.

"I shouldn't be here Lee'. If Stark knew I was here-"

"It's my birthday." Leeland started, looking at his father as if seeing him for the first time. Jonathon blinked before he gave a slow nod of his head and opened his mouth to speak but Leeland beat him too it. "Ah'm gonna be prepped for surgery tomorrow." He started overly cheerful before his expression waned and he gave an audible gulp. His eyes caught sight of the gun in his father's hand and he stared at it if it were an extra head. "An' ah'm…frankly terrified, so could you please jus' shut up and give me a hug or something?"

His father smiled sadly at his son as he holstered his gun but there was an awkward moment where neither of them moved. One look at his son's miserable expression was enough to clear away any of the uneasiness and he took the boy in his arms. Leeland had always been a gangly and awkwardly put together boy. His father could feel the bones of his shoulders through his jacket and he tightened his hold. He realised he never wanted to let the kid go. His kid.

"Happy Birthday Leeland." He smiled quietly into the boy's scruffy wad of hair before pressing his lips to his temple. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." He added before blinking, wondering what had possessed him to say that. But he visibly relaxed when Leeland's grip on him intensified and he smiled. "I'll sort all this out Lee', I promise." He whispered but the boy's hold on him began to shake and Jonathon frowned as the boy took a deep shuddering breath near his ear.

"Leeland?" He pulled back, holding him firmly by the shoulders and watching as his son tried to wipe furiously at his face. "Ah'm not cryin'." He mumbled, a hot blush creeping across his nose and Jonathon gave a small shake of his head and squeezed his shoulders.

"Do yah really mean it, though."

"What? That we'll sort this mess out and we can go home? Of course-"

"No…the other thin'." The boy rubbed the back of his head, still embarrassed with his eyes firmly affixed on his fathers.

Jonathon blinked before frowning; his brow's creasing together. Did his son really have to ask him if he was proud of him? Worse still, was the boy so unsure because his father didn't tell him enough, or at all? His face relaxed as he smiled tiredly and nodded his head. "Yes Leeland, and I'm proud of the man you're becoming."

The boy smiled, rubbing the back of his neck furiously before shaking his head. "All right, don't over do it." He said with an amused little smirk before taking a sobering breath.

Jonathon smiled before a little frown appeared on his face. Something certainly looked different about the boy. The dark smudges under his eyes, which were once a permanent feature, seemed lighter then usual. There was a glow on his cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Have you been taking your insulin at the right time?" Jonathon asked, mercenary mode forgotten as parent mode sneaked in. The boy blinked before heaving a great sigh and rolling his eyes.

"Yes." He grumbled. "An' 'ave been measurin' it as well." He huffed and Jonathon couldn't help but chuckle.

The wind picked up around them and the smell of early winter settled in around the father and son. The cold always smelled funny to Leeland. It was like the smell of water was trapped all around them and he took a deep breath before plowing on regardless.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Leeland?" Jonathon tilted his head as he searched the boy's face. The way his brow would crease in frustration and his mouth turning into a thin flat line were almost foreign to him. Almost.

The boy swallowed, looking anywhere but his father before opening his mouth to speak. He paused though when the sound of footsteps crept closer towards them and blinked owlishly when a startled young boy came from between the trees.

"Lee?" Victor frowned, glancing between father and son. His gaze rested just that little bit longer on Jonathon and the mercenary shifted so the gun was no longer in view.

When he looked back to Leeland, his stomach rolled. The other boy was grinning at him and Victor's brow furrowed slightly.

"What?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder and back towards the mansion. "I thought I left you on the sofa?" Bemused, he couldn't help but smile when a laugh escaped Leeland.

"Yeah. Julian is…er…Ah think Julian might be a bit drunk." He rubbed the back of his neck before shuffling from foot to foot. Victor squinted into the distance and sure enough there was Julian leaning on the warlock boy with a smile that screamed intoxication.

Victor huffed before glancing at the father and son. He excused himself with a small smile in Leeland's direction. When he passed by Jonathon, their eye's met and their gaze lingered for a moment. For a split second it was as if he was transported back a year ago, staring into the eyes of one of the purifiers with their guns still hot from recent fire.

The boy quickly looked away and stomped across the small space over towards the others. "I can smell that from all the way back there!" Leeland heard him exclaim before turning back to his Dad with a goofy little smile in the corner of his mouth. Leeland looked back at Jonathon, blinking a moment at his father's amused expression before swallowing the nausea that had decided to settle in his stomach.

"Dad, there's summat ah need to tell you-" A hand clasped his shoulder, cutting off his sentence and Jonathon smiled at him.

"I know, Lad."

"W-what." Leeland blinked stupidly and watched as his father peered across at the little group of children. Victor was now berating a unapologetic Brian "…and I don't care what the legal age is in your country!..." as Julian tried to stifle his drunken giggles and the girls stared across at all three of them.

"I like him." The hand on his shoulder gave a firm squeeze before it was gone. Leeland felt his nose and cheeks burn as he tried to splutter out something coherent.

"I should go." The old mercenary frowned at something past Leeland and the boy gave an awkward nod of his head. It was as if all the words had been knocked out of him by that one sentence of acceptance. The world felt a little of kilt.

"Ah'm not gonna see you again, ah'm I?" Leeland suddenly asked and Jonathon gave a small shake of his head.

"I don't think so lad. Not for a while at least. I need to make it safe for you when you come home-" He cut himself off, smiling despite the circumstance. "If you want to come home."

Leeland nodded a little reluctantly, rolling his bottom lip into his mouth. He was not about to start crying like a toddler just because he wouldn't see his Dad for a few weeks. Would it be months though? Perhaps years! Suddenly panic arose inside his chest and his insides squirmed with pain.

It was not the kind of pain that meant he was in trouble at school, where the punishment was harsh to drive the lesson home. No, this kind of pain was worse. The memory came from nowhere and he had a sudden flash of his Dad and Aunt Josie collapsing in the hospital in anguish because Uncle Kwon wasn't going to wake up.

"Be careful!" he blurted out, unsure where the feeling had come from and struggling not to cover his ridiculous mouth with his fingers. Jonathon regarded him with a bemused smirk.

"I'm always…" He trailed off, choosing a better choice of words. "I will be." He settled on and Leeland gave a sheepish nod of his head.

"Have a good birthday Lee', and don't let that idiot get you drunk." He pointed to where Brian was standing with his attention half turned towards them. "And try and make sure he goes home. I bet Josie's sick with worry-"

"-Dad. You're fussing." Leeland muttered with his hand back on his neck, rubbing at it furiously.

Jonathon only smiled and gave a soft nod of his head before reaching over and ruffling his hand through Leeland's mess of hair. "Dad!" He battered the hands away with a scowl as Jonathon laughed and took a step back. The awkwardness had pleasantly dispersed and the two were left smiling at each other.

"One thing before I go, I think those girl's have an apology for you." He gestured over towards the triplets who were regarding them both with guarded expressions. Leeland frowned before realisation dawned on him.

"What did they tell you?" He asked, a note of panic in his voice but Jonathon could only smile at him sadly.

"More like, what did they show me? That imaginary friend you were so angry at when you were little? I'll find him."

Leeland felt his stomach churn. The girls had shown his father Warlock and perhaps they had shown him Doug as well. He swallowed and opened his mouth to say something but Jonathon simply dragged him into a one armed hug and spoke into his wad of hair.

"You're my boy. Where you came from is neither here nor there. I've not done right by you-

"-Dad. It doesn't matter." Leeland mumbled into Jonathon's winter jacket. The cold had wormed its way into the fabric of the coat but beyond that was the hint of Jonathon that Leeland had grown up with. The scent he would wrap around himself when he would hide in his father's wardrobe. It was comforting and he was suddenly homesick.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to pry himself away but Jonathon only held him closer. The boy resigned himself and let his forehead rest on his father's shoulder and Jonathon's words flowed over him. "It does matter, Leeland. It matter's to me. I only ever wanted you to be happy and safe." Since the day he'd taken him, that was all his father had ever wanted for him. Be it safe and loved with his mother or living off with a childless couple.

Breaking the hug, he glanced down at the job that turned into a son. This boy, who he knew deep down, was dangerous in the wrong hands but all he saw was his scruffy in-a-world-of-his own kid.

"I never wanted you to have the kind of life I had."

Leeland frowned, his mouth parting. "You never talk about that." He said quietly. He'd only ever had snippets of what his father's life was like when he was much younger than he was. It didn't make for a story that you told children.

"No, but you know enough."

Leeland nodded and Jonathon took a deep cleansing breath and gave a genuine smile. "I should go." He squeezed Leeland's shoulder once before stepping back and turning back to head into the depth of the forest. He turned, a sudden thought coming to him but it quickly died upon his lips. "Those girl's want to be your friend. You should make up with them." Maybe having him forge a friendship with his sisters would make up for the lost one with his mother.

With that, Jonathon was gone.

His son watched him retreat, keeping his back in line until it blended into the darkness. Leeland suddenly felt very alone. A crackle of fire in the background killed the deafening silence and he swallowed a terrible feeling into the pit of his stomach.

A hand brushed against his elbow and he peered down into Victor's curious face. He smiled at him and the silence in the forest retreated reminding him that his drunken best friend was setting a terrible example to his classmates.

"Is he ok?" Victor asked, watching Leeland's face carefully as he peered back out into the forest. "Are you ok?"

Leeland nodded his head but it turned into a soft shrug of his shoulders. "I 'ope so. E's a tough old bloke. It doesn't stop me from worryin' 'bout 'im though."

"Come on!" The blonde suddenly exclaimed, a tight smile on his face. "Ah need to tell this great prat off." He started to make his way back towards the others before pausing. Turning, he glanced down at Victor before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to Victor's cold cheek. "Thanks for askin'." He spoke quietly as he leaned back up, shoving his hands into the warmth of his pockets.

"Not a problem." Victor smiled up at him before they headed back the way they came. They stayed close yet said little, as the noise of Julian's giggling was enough to fill the night's air.

As it turned out, Julian was a bit of a lightweight. At least, that was how Brian had put it with a smirk. He was sat around a crackling campfire; the smell of wood smoke filled the air, swam in their clothes and choked their hair.

"That's because he's sixteen. Idiot." Victor leaned over the log Brian was perched upon and pinched the bottle of alcohol freely from his loose fingers.

"Oi!" Brian called as Victor strode across the clearing. He held the bottle between two fingers, intent of pouring it out. Before he even had a chance to tip the booze, it was taken out of his own hand by a bright green light. The boy whipped around, watching as Julian's eye's squinted and his hand shook to keep control of his powers.

"Nice one." Brian grinned, nodding his approval at the inebriated mutant. Unfortunately, being in such a state did nothing for the boy's powers. His hand jerked as his head dropped slightly to the side. The bottle shot past their head's, smashing against the tree behind them.

They ducked as shards of glass rained down upon them and their laughter filled the air.

Victor was less than amused when the warlock boy clicked his fingers with a whispered spell. Another bottle of alcohol appeared between his fingers.

Leeland watched with his lips pressed together, suppressing a smile. It felt almost nostalgic. It was like he was back home, hanging out in the disused quarry. They would pass the bottle between them and their friends, huddled around a campfire they had made in an old tire.

It looked as if Victor was about to make a remark about the new bottle. His eyebrows came together in annoyance and his cheeks puffed up in indignation. Leeland couldn't help his sudden smile and the warmth that erupted in the pit of his stomach. Never would he have imagined that someone's annoyance could make them look adorable. He endeavored never to tell Victor that.

Quickly, he stepped forward and his hand came to rest at Victor's elbow. The other boy sharply looked up at him, the annoyance in his eyes suddenly softened and Leeland grinned. "Leave 'em to it, ey? If they wanna spend tomorrow feelin' like they've been run over then let 'em."

Victor frowned across at the other two boys. He opened his mouth to say something when Brian cut across him.

"Lee', tell 'im 'bout when we were fourteen and got off our 'eads on that shit your Dad 'ad 'idin' in the shed." His eye's fairly lit up with mirth as he took a swig before passing it across to Julian.

Leeland scowled before his cheeks coloured in embarrassment.

"You're a terrible excuse for a friend." Came the calm collected voices of the triplets. Leeland had very nearly forgotten about them. They stepped out from the dark of the forest and the crackling fire illuminated their faces. It made them look unearthly, the fire dancing in their pale eyes.

"Oh aye?" Brian smirked, glancing up and over the fire towards the triplets. They crossed their arms simultaneously in a near perfect imitation of Emma Frost.

"An' why would that be then?" He stood up, fairly swaggering towards them. He was at least three inches shorter than they were but what he lacked in height, he made up for in both stock and cockiness.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Julian warned with a smile, his lips pressed around the neck of the bottle. Brian snorted, glancing up at what appeared to be three harmless little girls. "They're Ms. Frosts girls." There was laughter in Julian's voice and Leeland couldn't help but wonder how often he'd used that line.

Brian was un-phased for a moment or two, his face a mixture of bemusement and ease. That was until the girls peered down at him, the fire practically dancing in their overly familiar pale eyes.

"Shit!" The warlock stumbled backwards, his back pressing up against Leeland and Victor. "You came outta that barren Ice Queen!" He choked on his words, his back now pressed firmly up against Leeland's front. The taller boy rolled his eyes, bringing his arm around to rest it on top of his smaller friends head. "Don't be rude." He spoke quietly, lifting his gaze to meet the girl's curious eyes. They tilted their heads at him and he sheepishly glanced down at Brian's head.

"Oi, get of." The warlock spun around, frowning as he tugged at his own dreads and Leeland stifled a laugh behind his fingers. "I ain't bein' rud-what's wrong with yah 'ead?" The mood changed suddenly and Leeland waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "S'nothin'." He said easily, brushing his hair over his ears and stepping back. He immediately regretted the loss of warmth from Victor being pressed up against his side.

Brian came forward quickly and grabbed up his hand pulling it firmly, yet surprisingly gently, out of the way. He reached up and pushed the obscuring locks of hair away to stare at the temporary hearing aid.

"It's fine." Leeland mumbled, mostly to himself, as Brian turned his head to get a good look at the other side of his head. "What 'appened Leeland?" He looked away, seeking out Victor who gave him an encouraging smile.

"It was jus' after yah got away. Everythin' went quiet an' then ah jus' remember lookin' down at my 'ands covered in blood."

Brian turned pale and Leeland frowned. "It's fine, really." He added quickly, unsure as to why his friend had taken on ghastly hue. "Not like ah could 'ear right anyway. They've jus' gotta fix me up." He spoke as if it was nothing more than a routine health check up. Leeland had had more of those then he cared to remember.

Brian turned to Victor, gesturing at Leeland as he did so. "So this is keepin' him safe, huh?"

Victor crossed his arms over his chest and peered at the triplets. "If this is him not being a good friend, then I'd hate to see what he does as an enemy." There was a tease to his voice. Brian snorted in response, turning back to Leeland to question him on what had happened.

How long have you know about Ms. Frost, Victor? The girl's collected voice pooled into the boy's head like cold water and the shiver that ran down his spine had nothing to do with the weather.

Not long. Came his careful reply, his eyes still firmly on the scene in front of him. Leeland was being awfully sheepish, trying to keep his voice quiet and calm as he explained what had happened with the generator. He was being very careful about what he said about the generator to, Victor noted.

Will you tell him? The girls asked and Victor resisted the urge to glance up at them, his mouth in a thin line. His shoulders and gaze dropped the floor.

I want to tell him. I can't. He settled on, his cold fingers rubbing the sides of his arms. The weight of the lie felt heavy in his stomach. Lying made things worse and liars were always caught out in the end. The images that Frost had planted in his mind, however, would haunt him longer than the lie itself.

I have to live with it. For now. Besides…

"Girls, don't you have something to say to Leeland?" Victor cleared his throat, surprised at how easy it was to slip back into talking. The triplets gave him a cool stare and Victor wondered if that was surprise he'd caught in their glance.

Brian stopped talking. "Why? What'cha do to 'im?" He turned, one hand out still on Leeland's arm, as he looked the girls up and down. Victor couldn't help but smirk, amused.

"Brian." Leeland warned softly. "It's fine." It seemed, however, as if the warlock had gained back a little of the momentum he had previously lost. He didn't walk over to the girls, but his chin jutted out and the small hold he had on Leeland's arm tightened a little. "It's not fine." He said, strangely sober for the amount of drink he had consumed. "Leeland, you're deaf." He gave the taller boy a sharp look but Leeland could only roll his shoulders.

"An' that's fine."

Brian began to press the issue and Leeland could only smile. He moved, taking his arm from his friends grip to press a cold finger to the smaller boy's lips. Brian frowned; pushing the hand away before rubbing at the rough patch of hair he called a beard.

"Look." Leeland started. "Ah'm fine with this." He looked over at Julian who was watching them with the bottle still pressed to his lips. "Ah mean, ah'm scared. But it's not 'end 'o 'world. Some people are born deaf, an' that fine Brian."

"But you weren't!" Brian stressed and Leeland huffed.

"Ah was born in some lab in the middle of a ruddy desert. Grown in a tube like that mold we kept in your mums shed when we were nine." He swallowed, pursing his lips as he stared down at Brian. "So it's fine, Brian. Ah'm fine. Can we please jus' stop talkin' about it?"

They stared at each other. Brian's fists were curled up into angry balls by his side and Leeland's breathing had taken on a hard edge. Then, the tension melted away from Brian and he took a step back. With a small nod of his head, he looked up. "Ok." He settled on quietly and Leeland smiled gently. "Thank you."

Victor watched the exchange between the two childhood friends and only then did it dawn on his just how close Leeland and Brian were. He couldn't see it at first. Brian was loud and obnoxious, cocky and just that little bit to closely related to a caveman. It didn't blend with Leeland's gentler nature and his inability to see to himself, rather than other people.

With the two of them together, it almost balanced them out. Victor blinked before giving a small shake of his head. He had wondered where Leeland had picked up his small streak of anger, whether it was from Frost or even Ramsey. It almost seemed as if it was there to counteract Brian's own aggression. Strangely enough, it worked.

"So." Victor cleared his throat, turning towards the triplets. "What happened earlier?"

The triplets gave him a once over before they turned their attention towards Leeland. The boy waited patiently.

"We shouldn't have left you." They started as one. "We wanted to give you something from your past but we didn't anticipate the reaction."

"Forge and David didn't help you at all, did they?" Leeland asked but it sounded as if he already knew the answer to his question. The girls shook their heads.

"'Ave I missed summat?" Brian asked and Leeland sighed with a shake of his head. He glanced over at Julian who was still watching them all intensely before looking over at Victor. He shrugged then, pushing his hands into his pockets.

"Next time, girls." He started, walking forward. "Don't." He smiled though, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his head. "But how did you know?" He asked with a slight frown. "About Warlock?" He asked quietly, wary of the eyes upon him.

"What?" Asked Brian before Victor hushed him.

"We know a lot about you, Leeland Williams." They said raising their gaze to look up at the boy. Leeland swallowed. Their icy blue eyes were just like Ms. Frost's, but there was that familiarity to them. It was niggling it's way in the back of his mind but in a blink it was gone.

"You left that file out for Gleason to find." Said a voice behind them. Leeland glanced over his shoulder to see Laura. Her hands were resting in the pocket of her leather jacket and she was purposefully trying to ignore Julian's drunken smile.

"The wolf child's scent was covering your own, which I'll admit isn't to dissimilar from Frost's. Her office was, after all, where it was kept." She said apathetically turning to pluck the bottle from Julian's hand. "I also don't appreciate you blaming this on myself." She frowned down at the little hellion who was far too tipsy to be bothered by the scolding. He beamed at her instead.

Leeland turned his puzzled expression back towards the girls. "If yah knew 'bout the file, why didn't yah tell me?" He asked. "Why'dcha leave it out for Nicky to find?"

"It didn't seem appropriate." Said the girl in the middle.
"We're Ms. Frost's…" They trailed off with a frown and Leeland had to admit that it was the most animated he'd ever seen them.

"So you knew about Warlock from the file?" There was silence before the girls spoke again.

"We knew because Ms. Frost knew. She has known for a long time."

That made Leeland blink. He frowned, lips parting as if to say something but nothing would come to mind. All he could think was back to when she told him to stop looking. To let the matter of his parents be nothing more than wild speculation. All the while, she knew.

She knew.

So what else did Emma Frost know?

"Uhh." Said Brian. "Any one else not followin' this?" He asked and Julian's hand came up into the air. The cold air was having a sobering effect on him.

Leeland turned, as if to march back towards the mansion.

"She's not there." The girl's said as Laura stepped forward, blocking Leeland's path.

"Ms. Frost and Mr. Summers are at a benefit with Stark." She said in that same deadpan tone. "If you want, the warlock could teleport us there and we could intereg-"

"No." Said Victor who marched over. His hand gently came to rest at Leeland's elbow. "We can't just go popping all over the State." He said, glancing up at Leeland who seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding his head.

"You're right. We can't. Ah bet the benefit's important as well." He replied, giving a weak smile at Victor who reassured him with a smile of his own. "Besides." He added, lacing his fingers with Victor's. "Ah wouldn't 'ave a clue what to say."

xxx

Emma pressed her lips to the rim of the wine glass. It was a chardonnay that looked expensive in the bottle but tasted flat on the tongue. She found her self sneering at it before discarding it on a passing waiters tray.

Glancing around, she pressed her hand to her elbow and watched the room of mostly humans. There were a few favoured meta-humans scattered amongst the richest and most influential of humans. Ever since she had publically revealed herself as a mutant, however, the influence that came with being a mere human had started to slip away. No longer was she, or her various companies first on the list to such gatherings.

It annoyed her more than she would allow herself to believe.

"You look deathly bored." Came Tony's voice in her ear, breath heavy with the tang of wine.

"I'm thinking, Stark, an ability you seem to be lacking."

"Are you still angry with me?" He asked, amusement in his voice and she turned to look at his smug face.

"Darling, if it wasn't beneath me then your nose would be firmly acquainted with my fist." That only seemed to amuse him more, but she was willing to let it go.

"I'll take that as a yes." Said Tony, turning to survey the room with her, taking another wine glass as the tray glided past them. He took what could only be described as a gulp, emptying half of the glass, before addressing her again. "I'm sorry it had to turn out like that, Emma." He spoke gently and Emma arched a slim eyebrow at him.

"You tried to take one of ours, I'm not feeling particularly charitable towards you at the moment."

"I know." He said with a frown. "Williams said as such. He seems to know you almost as much as I do."

"Perhaps better." Came Emma's reply. "And it's Williams now, not McCorby?"

Stark smirked. "His request. If he can't see the boy, at least call him by the same name. He cares about him a great deal."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Well of course he does. He is the boy's father-" She held up a slim hand when Tony intended to speak over her. "And we shall leave it at that." She turned to give him her full attention. "What do you really want Stark?"

"My, it's almost as if you can read minds." Tony replied softly before finishing the wine and glancing around for another glass. "Do you know where the Warlock boy is Emma? His mother and step-father are attorney's and I'm hoping he's scuttled off back to them."

"You're not telling me everything, Tony."

Tony smiled, almost a grimace. "The Hayes want Leeland brought back to the UK. Something I don't think Sier Juniour has let on about. Either that or he doesn't know his mothers intentions."

"More that he hasn't been home long enough to hear about. I assume Williams doesn't know either."

Stark shook his head. "The boy's a mutant and no longer a minor, bad enough that I couldn't get him from you."

"Do not underestimate Mrs. Hayes. She married a warlock and gave birth to one." She gave a small sigh and tapped her chin.

"Shall I forward you the details?" He asked and Emma gave a small incline of her head. "Does this mean we're friends again?" He added and Emma found herself smirking.

"Oh Tony. You'll have to grovel harder than that.

TBA ~

End AN: Hi. Sorry this took forever to update and isn't that impressive. Rough couple of months, we'll leave it at that.

Hello to the new readers I seem to have picked up along the way. (Where have you people been hiding?) Thanks for all the great and insightful reviews (that all came in bulk thanks to a FF delay). There was some real food for thought in there! I rather hope no one will be overly disappointed in the direction I'm taking BF.

I'm sorry for the disappointment but this is (w)angst heavy and yes his code name will be eventually Babel. You may all cringe now.

gullivers travels: The paradox will be addressed. There's also James Bradley delivering himself as well as Cable being sent off to the future to be raised by Rachel.

Hopefully I can get a better chapter out next time and it won't take forever as well.

Peace ~