Diamonds Are Forever

[Tom Harriman]

Of all the people who had wandered into his lab over the last few days, this was the first time where he honestly didn't have to ask the name. Tom wasn't easily starstruck - he'd passed dozens of celebrities on the street without it being more than a casual bit of this is what I did today information to relay back to Alice - but this particular time seemed noteworthy for a variety of reasons.

One of those reasons was the wide-eyed lab assistant following him around like a hypnotised puppy; the other was the poster of a considerably less clothed Marcus Godfrey that had adorned his sister's wall for a good portion of her teens.

Tom was on his feet within seconds: not rushing with the kind of enthusiasm that Emma had displayed; more relieved that it wasn't the sort of person that he'd been expecting.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said with a genuine smile. "And I'm not just saying that: I was expecting to have to meet and greet with one of Dahlia's crusty old shareholders again, and I've done about enough of that to last me a lifetime."

His brow tugged into a frown of polite curiosity. "What brings you to my lab, Mister Godfrey?"

[Marcus Godfrey]

"I prefer Marcus," he countered, returning Tom's warm handshake.

Though he'd already seen him on television, Doctor Harriman was far different from what he expected. Anyone could look like a well-meaning professional if you stuck him in a fancy suit and gave him a few prepared statements and a little bit of speach coaching. But seeing Harriman now, dressed in his lab coat and surrounded by his natural habitat, he wasn't what Marcus had expected at all.

Scientists were - in his experience at least - socially awkward individuals who spent as much time as possible avoiding interactions with people. Harriman on the other hand seemed born to it; Marcus recalled how he'd mentioned teaching, and decided that must be the reason. Tom didn't have the aura of an unapproachably intelligent man; up close, Marcus bought into everything he'd said at the press conference even more.

"I saw your little conference yesterday," Marcus explained, answering Tom's question in stages. "Being one of Dahlia's crusty old shareholders, I wanted to congratulate you: it's always nice to see Treadstone showing the world a friendly and compationate face."

There was a moment's pause; Marcus fought to overcome the last of his reluctance.

"As a mutant, however: I'm here to ask for your help."

[Tom Harriman]

As a mutant.

Tom knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Mutations were about genetics; being surprised to hear about a celebrity mutant was like being surprised that a mutant had auburn hair or could roll their tongue. And yet it did, somehow: when Jack Covington and Crystal Villanueva had spoken out against the Mutant Registration Act, part of him had assumed that they represented the sum total of celebrity mutants, not just the tip of some iceberg.

The highly insensitive question had already tumbled from his lips before his brain even thought about trying to stop it.

"What can you do?"