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Bang! You’re Dead!
The Vulture glides through the night, reminding himself over and over again that there is no justice. Once, he was Adrian Toomes, inventor and electrical engineer, but his partner stole the profits from their company and the law, blocked by a technicality, could do nothing. And so, applying the electromagnetic elements that had long fascinated him, Toomes built himself a set of wings. He discovered that, not only could he fly, but exposure to the wings harness gave him superhuman strength. He became a thief to catch a thief, and soon discovered that he preferred a life outside the law. He was in federal prison, now he is free...
Having reached his destination, the Vulture descends through an open skylight into a building. Landing gracefully, he shouts that there is no justice but just deserts, and dares the Tinkerer to come out and face his wrath for daring to duplicate the designs of his wings. Somewhere behind the Vulture, hiding behind a corner, the Tinkerer answers that he has been expecting the Vulture and activates the defense mechanisms of his base.
Electronic bolas wraps themselves around the Vulture’s upper body, pinning his arms and wings, though both men are aware that they won’t hold him for him. However, the Tinkerer threatens to use a  concussive grenade, but the Vulture is no fool. Well aware that the resulting explosions would damage the Tinkerer’s beloved workshop, he knows that he wouldn‘t throw it. Lunging forward and grabbing the Tinkerer by the throat, the Vulture explains that as soon as he found the package containing an ersatz version of his wings in his prison cell, he instantly recognized that they had been crafted by the Tinkerer’s hands. Now he wants answers – why did he steal the designs and then send the wings to him?
The Tinkerer takes offence by being called a thief, and orders the electrical bolas to fully release the Vulture. The Tinkerer proceeds to inform the Vulture that he was hired to duplicate his wings, motioning to a computer screen, he explains that a face appeared on the screen and ordered him to make the wings. `A face? Why, you senile old dotard!‘ the Vulture retorts, but the Tinkerer tells the Vulture that he is wrong, and informs him that he told the stranger on the computer that he is a professional and works only for money. The Tinkerer holds up a bank statement, confirming that the very next day, an extremely handsome payment arrived in the mail, in full advance.
The Tinkerer adds that along with the money, was plans for the wings and instructions which he followed to the letter. The Tinkerer reads off the instructions and informs the Vulture that they also say that once the Vulture arrived here, he needs to attack a hero called Speedball. ‚What? That youthful cretin? He‘s worse than Spider-Man!‘ The Tinkerer replies `Perhaps‘ before remarking that their benefactor feels they owe him, and points out that their benefactor did arrange for the Vulture‘s release. `Then he is a fool‘ shouts the Vulture, boasting that he follows his own agenda, and proceeds to ask the Tinkerer if he has read the papers lately, informing him that the murderous villain called Nitro is to stand trial today, and boasts that he is going to release the madman from his high-tech canister prison, and informs the Tinkerer that he is going to help him.
Meanwhile, New Mutants Rusty Collins and Sally „Skids“ Blevins have been unjustly imprisoned by Freedom Force, the federal mutant watchdogs. After a failed attempt to block the Vulture‘s escape, Rusty freed his girlfriend, but his plans to recapture the Vulture have been put on hold as the prison guards open fire on them. `Bullets wont stop them! They bounce off the bimbo‘s deflection field!‘ one of the guards cries. Angry, Sally tells the guards `You can‘t get us, but we can get you‘ and warns them to back off or else Rusty will fry them.
Inside Skids‘ force field, Rusty tells Sally to quit threatening the guards and suggests that they get out of here. Sally replies that she would love to, and asks where they are going. Rusty replies that they are going to Albany, that‘s where Nitro‘s trial is, and the Vulture is planning on releasing Nitro, so they have to stop him. As bullets bounce off of her, Sally asks why they have to stop the Vulture. `Let the Vulture prey on other humans and good riddance! We‘ve saved humans time and time again, and how do they repay us? They imprison us, they kidnap us!‘
Suddenly, they heroic teens are knocked aside, but Sally manages to hold her force field up. Rusty exclaims that it was a rocket, and tells Skids that was nothing compared to what Nitro will do. Rusty exclaims that Nitro has the power to create concussive explosions from his own body, and adds that hundreds of innocent people will die. `People who aren‘t lucky enough to be born with a protective field‘ The handsome Rusty notices a truck which is still running and figures that the driver must have abandoned it when the shooting started.
Opening the door to the truck, Rusty discovers that it is not completely abandoned, as he pulls a driver out. Rusty suggests to the driver that he keep his head down and get out of the way as bullets are flying everywhere. As another bullet smacks against her force field, Sally snaps that she has had it with humans and declares that their real duty is to their own kind. Rusty assures his girlfriend that stopping the Vulture will save humans and advance the mutant cause, reminding her that he is going to be tried to desertion and wrecking naval property, and that she is going to be tried for aiding him, however, they are being held without bail and a date for the hearing has not even been set. `If Freedom Force and whoever‘s behind them has their way, they‘ll never set a date!‘ Sally exclaims as she and Rusty take their seats in the truck.
Rusty begins driving, suggesting that they capture the Vulture and stop him from releasing Nitro, then when the reporters descend and point their cameras at them calling them heroes, they can shout the truth - that someone in their government has kidnapped mutant children and training them for combat. The van speeds towards a large gate and more guards who are still firing at the escaping New Mutants. Sally extends her force field to outside the van though, and Rusty burns through the gate. Free, Sally exclaims that they will be heroes, delivering a heroic message of liberation and tells her boyfriend that it is a long shot, but might just work. `‘Just let Freedom Force try to cover that up!‘ Sally exclaims.
Meanwhile, the street before the Albany courthouse is a mob-scene - reporters and news crews jostle for pictures as throngs of irate picketers concerned about possible infringement of Nitro‘s civil rights confront activists concerned with the right of Nitro‘s victims. The police, trying to quell a potential riot, have little time to glance skyward, and if they did, they would not see anything out of the ordinary, for the Vulture has eschewed the skies, and has soared down alleyways, skimmed the rooftops to approach the courthouse from behind.
Landing on top of the courthouse, the Tinkerer declares that he wants no part of this, adding that the gizmo he was forced to make will release Nitro, and even a child could operate it. The Vulture replies that the Tinkerer‘s presence will ensure that his „gizmo“ works, warning the Tinkerer that if it doesn’t, then he will die. The aged villains approach a skylight and the Vulture thinks to himself that the Tinkerer will die anyw3ay, die with them all, and the secret of his wings will die too - `In an explosion that will reduce this temple of supposed justice to rubble!‘
The elderly villains look through the skylight and the Vulture asks the Tinkerer if he can see Nitro, locked inside the canister filled with nausea gas, kept incoherent, unable to speak, to testify in his own defense. The Tinkerer points out that they have to sedate him, otherwise, if Nitro could concentrate, he‘d activate his power and detonate. The Tinkerer reminds the Vulture that Nitro has done it several times before, and will no doubt do it again, as soon as he is released, and without a care for what damages he does or who he injures.
`Indeed he will!‘ the Vulture exclaims, before declaring that the fool who paid the Tinkerer to free him from prison was part of the super-villainous Acts of Vengeance. ‘And he insulted us! Insulted us both!‘ the Vulture exclaims, pointing out that their benefactor knows they are old, and therefore thinks they are weak, unfit for any real participation. `He thinks that I have nothing better to do than fight a bouncing neophyte like Speedball!‘ Suddenly, the Vulture bursts through the skylight, shouting `Where is the villainy in that? Where‘s the prestige? Where‘s the vengeance?‘
The Vulture boasts `He‘ll learn you can‘t judge a man‘s potential for destruction by the color of his hair…or the lack of it! I‘ll show him vengeance and villainy beyond his wildest dreams!‘ The Vulture swoops down into the courtroom, `I am the Vulture! I prey on the dead!‘ he cries, before grabbing the canister that Nitro is being held in and flying back up through the skylight. The lawyers in the courtroom call out for the guards to go after him, while arriving back on the roof, the Vulture asks the Tinkerer if he sees how rapidly he accomplished Nitro‘s rescue, only to discover that the Tinkerer is not on the roof.
`Rapidly, yes, yes indeed‘ the Tinkerer replies as he makes his way down a nearby ladder. The Vulture places the canister containing Nitro down and turns to the fleeing Tinkerer, `More rapidly than you had thought possible, eh, Tinkerer? It allowed you no time to escape!‘ Down in the alleyway, the truck that Rusty and Skids escaped from the prison in screeches to a halt. Inside, Rusty exclaims that the radio said the Vulture has Nitro, before motioning to the picketers who are all dispersing, Rusty supposes they must have heard it too, as they are running this way!
Sally warns Rusty that he has to stop or swerve, otherwise he will hit the picketers, but one of the guards shoots the truck and a bullet bursts one of its tires. Rusty exclaims that the brakes are locked, and as the truck heads towards the side of a building, he tells Sally to throw her force field up, which she does just in time. Slightly shaken, Sally remarks that the people are safe, and that she and Rusty are okay. Rusty is concerned about Nitro though and tells Sally that they have to go.
Stepping out of the truck though, the two New Mutants are almost injured by a statue that falls down and lands beside them. Sally remarks that the impact of them slamming into the building must have knocked it loose, but Rusty motions to the rooftop of the courthouse, where he sees the Vulture and someone else. Sally asks if it is Nitro, but Rusty replies that he doesn’t think so, before noting the fire escape and suggesting they go up it.
On the rooftop, the Vulture has a hand around the Tinkerer‘s throat, `You betrayed me!‘ he exclaims, warning the Tinkerer that if he was of less potential use to him, he would hurl him to his death. The Tinkerer pleads with the Vulture not to, and promises that he will open the canister. The Vulture pulls the Tinkerer back onto the roof, ordering him to hurry as they haven‘t got much time. The Tinkerer quickly announces that the device is activated, explaining that it will burn through the container, allowing nausea gas to escape and fresh air to enter.
The Vulture exclaims that then Nitro‘s head will clear and his escape will be a mere detonation away. Suddenly though, several guards arrive on the roof from the rooftop stair access in the courthouse and order Vulture to stop, otherwise they will shoot. The Vulture informs the guards that they have arrived too late, and tosses a couple of concussive grenades at them, while remarking to the Tinkerer that they are of some use after all. A low humming noise is heard and the Vulture declares that sound is the sizzling sweet sound of his victory!
The Vulture boasts that it will culminate in a blast far more deadly than this one, when Rusty notices that some police officers below are firing up at the rooftop. `At us or them?‘ Skids asks. Rusty remarks that the bullets will not stop the Vulture, to which Sally remarks that they won‘t be stopped by bullets either and tells Rusty to go on and get the Vulture, while she uses her force field to protect them as they climb. Rusty tells Sally to hold on tight and go carefully, reminding her that although the bullets will easily skid off her shield, she could just as easily skid down the latter. Sally replies that she will be careful and tells Rusty to hurry.
Arriving on the rooftop, Rusty sees Nitro‘s canister glowing orange, and notices the Vulture and the other old guy watching it, he wonders what they are doing. Rusty suddenly lunges at the Vulture, telling the old villain that whatever he is up to, he can stop it right now. The Vulture recognizes Rusty from their encounter at prison and asks him if he learnt nothing from it. The Vulture and Rusty begin fighting mid-air, with Rusty clinging to the old man, warning him that if he doesn’t finish him, the bullets will. `Not when I have you to use as a shield!‘ the Vulture replies, before informing Rusty that he has arrived too late, and that he planned to be out here in any case, for his great plan is set inexorably in motion - Nitro will soon be free, and everyone will die.
Sally watches the battle, thinking that the Vulture might have a plan, but so do she and Rusty. Sally realizes that the Vulture - and Rusty - are drawing the cops fire, so she drops her force field and makes her way up the ladder, only to witness an explosion as Nitro bursts from his canister. `On no!‘ Sally exclaims, as she instinctively throws up her force field to protect herself and the Tinkerer from all the flying shards of metal.
The Vulture grabs Rusty by his throat, `See, you young imbecile? It worked! And the best is yet to come!‘ the Vulture exclaims, adding that when Nitro coalesces, he will be himself again. Nitro stands before Skids and the Tinkerer, shouting that he will have vengeance on those who trapped him. `Soon you will feel the explosive fury of Nitro!‘ The Vulture continues to struggle with Rusty and shouts out to Nitro that it was the judges in the courthouse below who trapped him, before announcing `I, the Vulture, your friend and benefactor, have set you free!‘
Rusty asks the Vulture why he is doing this, pointing out that Nitro will blow up the courthouse and everyone in it! The Vulture replies that is exactly what he has in mind and boasts that he will show them all that despite being bald, the Vulture is a power to be reckoned with. `There will be destruction as the world has seldom seen…and then, I‘ll fly away‘. Rusty replies that he has a power to be reckoned with too, and calling the Vulture a jerk, Rusty unleashes his mutant flame upon the winged old man, who exclaims that they are too high, but Rusty doesn’t care, and the two plummet to the rooftop of the courthouse.
`Meddling mutant fool!‘ the Vulture shouts as he goes for Rusty‘s throat again, to which Sally warns the Vulture to stop choking him, and points out that Rusty was on the bottom when they landed, so now he is unconscious. `And soon, my dear, he‘ll be dead!‘ the Vulture boasts. The Tinkerer points out that they will all be dead, and tells the Vulture that he can‘t escape now anymore than the rest of them can. `You‘re all fools and now you‘re gonna die like fools!‘ Nitro shouts, to which the Vulture leaves Rusty and informs Nitro that the cops are closing in, and suggests they should re-think this plan. Nitro replies that he doesn’t care if the cops close in, as there will be nothing left for them to cart away. `You‘ll be gone and I‘ll be somewhere else!‘
Sally surrounds herself and the unconscious Rusty with her force field, before turning to Nitro and telling him that the Vulture and the Tinkerer set him free, so he should give them a break. Sally asks what good it will do to kill the Vulture and Tinkerer and all those innocent people. Nitro replies `Learn this, mutie, and learn it well! Gratitude has no place in modern villainy!‘ Nitro proceeds to tell Skids that can use her force field to protect and the others if she wants to, but that she shouldn’t expect them to thank her for.
Nitro begins to blaze white hot, building towards the momentum when he will explode in incandescent fury. `No! Don‘t!‘ Skids screams as she leaps towards Nitro, her force field fully extended, Sally Blevins throws herself onto the powerful villain as he begins to discorporate. Desperate, Skids wraps her force field around Nitro, covering the madman with the hope she will prevent disaster. In effect, Skids becomes a human containment vessel - but Nitro‘s fury cannot be contained, and he still detonates with enough force to destroy a city block.
Skids falls to the ground, energy dripping from her body, she wonders how she can hurt so much and yet still be alive. Nitro stands over her and is surprised that she was able to stop his blast, but declares that he doesn’t think Skids can move to try and stop him again, as all he has to do is re-form, and then detonate whenever and wherever he choses. Suddenly though, Nitro feels something strange happening, `Why can I not…reform?‘ he utters, before turning to dust. The Vulture asks what happened to Nitro, and the Tinkerer explains that it is probably the result of exploding within the extremely confined space of Skids‘ force field, and the concussion shattered his molecular bonds so that he was unable to reform. A weak Sally calls out to Rusty, and whether he can hear her or not, she whispers `We did it, Rusty….just like you said. Saved the humans. Gave mutants a good name…showed them we‘re real heroes…‘ before passing out.
Meanwhile…the rest of the New Mutants - Danielle “Mirage“ Moonstar, Sam “Cannonball“ Guthrie, Bobby “Sunspot“ DaCosta, Tabitha “Boom-Boom“ Smith Rahne “Wolfsbane“ Sinclair, Warlock and Julio “Rictor“ Richter - are in Asgard, the dimension ruled by the Norse Gods, where an invasion has just been repelled, but at a terrible cost. The obese Volstagg and three of his children - Hildy, Kev and Signe - rush over to Warlock, who sits with the unconscious Boom-Boom and Hrimhari the wolf-prince. Volstagg asks Warlock if they are all right, to which Warlock replies that he and Boom-Boom are alive, before turning to Hrimhari. Hildy announces that Hrimhari is still breathing, before remarking to her father that the other New Mutants have fallen too, and lie gravely wounded in Odin‘s palace, suggesting that they take Warlock, Boom-Boom and Hrimhari to them.
Shortly, Volstagg and his friends in the Warriors Three, Fandral and Hogun carry the three into a chamber where the New Mutants are recuperating. ‘The Warriors Three bring thee more invalids!‘ Volstagg announces. The New Mutants are finally reunited, and Wolfsbane is relieved that her wolf-prince is alive. Mirage exclaims that they are hurt though, and begins sobbing, asking her best friend Wolfsbane why she wasn’t strong enough to resist Hela‘s magics. Rahne tells Dani not to blame herself, that Hela took so long to create that spell, no Valkyrie was able to resist it. `But don‘t you see? I‘m not just any Valkyrie, I‘m a mutant!‘ Dani sobs.
Hogun turns to the dwarf-lord, Eitri and motions to Cannonball who is in a bed, asking if this is the champion who destroyed the Deathsword. Eitri replies that is, adding that Sam is feeling the bitter effects of his heroism. Hogun holds up a flask and remarks that in it, he has the elixir of life, a restorative potion of immense power. He brings the flask to Sam‘s lips and tells him to drink it and be healed. Sam replies that he can feel it working, that he is better all ready, before pointing out that some of the others were hit pretty hard also, and asks Hogun if he can spare some of the potion for them.
Soon, the brave New Mutants and mighty warriors of Asgard all examine themselves after taking the potion. `It‘s like a miracle!‘ Mirage exclaims. `It is a miracle!‘ Rahne remarks. Balder the Brave enters the chamber and declares that it is no less than the heroes of Asgard‘s defense deserve, adding that in the name of Odin, and all of Asgard, he thanks them all. Cannonball replies that it was nothing, and points out that Thor has risked his life for the people of Earth time and time again. `It was time us humans returned the favor‘.
Boom-Boom announces that the comment she is going to make is going to sound weird coming from her, but that it is not really that bad here on Asgard, and that she is almost sorry to be going home. `Home…to Migard? But I thought you knew!‘ Balder exclaims, before informing the New Mutants that the Rainbow Bridge that links their dimensions has been severed as Asgard now floats out in the Negative Zone. Balder adds that no one knows how the New Mutants came here, but that there is no way they can send them home!
Meanwhile, back home, on the now crowded courthouse roof, the Vulture and the Tinkerer have been taken into police custody, and a severely concussed Rusty kneels beside the unconscious Skids as the roar of the landing helicopter pounds his brain. Freedom Force members Blob, Pyro and Crimson Commando exit the chopper and Crimson Commando tells the approaching medics to keep back, as they are taking over now. One of the medics points out that Skids is in bad shape and Rusty is not much better.
The Blob informs the medics that the kids are escapees from a federal prison and therefore do not need medics as they are a danger to society, and he is going to take them where they cannot hurt anyone else. The Blob adds that as a favor to the local cops, they will take charge of the Vulture too. Rusty protests, `What are you talking about us hurting people? Skids never harmed anybody! She stopped nitro! She saved hundreds of people!‘ Blob grabs hold of Rusty, while one of the medics kneels beside Skids declaring that he doesn’t care who she is, `If she doesn‘t reach a hospital soon…I wont answer for her life!‘ the medic exclaims.
Crimson Commando assures the medic that Freedom Force takes full responsibility and asks the medic to load Skids into the chopper, informing him that Skids and Rusty will be cared for in a government facility from which there will be no escape. Anguish spreads of Rusty, `No! You can‘t! you heard them! She has to get to a hospital, now!‘ he cries. Crimson Commando looks at the paramedic and suggests he does as he is told - otherwise face a warrant for interfering with federal officers.
Flame bursts up around Rusty, `No! You Can’t! Don‘t listen to them!‘ he pleads with the medics, before turning to Crimson Commando and declaring that he is just afraid that Skids will spill Freedom Force‘s dirty little secret. Rusty points out that Skids isn‘t the only one who knows what Freedom Force is up to and begins to threaten them that they must take her to a hospital or else - until Pyro approaches Rusty and takes control of his flames. The Blob snarls that he has had it listening to lying bellyaching scum that give honest muties a bad name. Clearly referring to Rusty, the Blob punches Rusty hard in the face.
Suddenly, one of the many reporters, all flanked by their camera crews, asks what it was that Rusty was saying, `Is it true that you don’t want us getting their side of the story?‘ Commando replies that Rusty was saying what one would expect any criminal to say, that he was innocent, adding that in his desperation he sought to sully Freedom Force‘s name through baseless accusations. Crimson Commando declares that he wants to set the record straight once and for all, and announces that Rusty and Skids‘ escape, with the Vulture, from a federal facility is a matter of record.
Commando goes on to say that Rusty and Skids teamed up with the Vulture to free Nitro from his specially-designed canister and were injured when Nitro ignited. `Because of them, hundreds of people could have died!‘ Commando lies. He remarks that Rusty and Skids may look young, but that people should not be fooled in believing that they are harmless, adding that it is because of them that Nitro is free, out somewhere. `They‘re evil mutants, and we in Freedom Force have learned to our great sorrow, the power of evil‘.
Commando announces that Freedom Force‘s own teammates, Destiny and Stonewall have just fallen tragically against scum like Rusty and Skids. Blob, Pyro and Commando all stands before the cameras for a pose as Commando remarks that danger, even death, is the price of Freedom Force‘s vigilance. He adds that Freedom Force will pay it gladly, `Because we are America‘s heroes…and we serve you all!‘
Elsewhere, and hours later, seven dark and mysterious forms enter a major federal energy research facility near Dark Hole in Wyoming. They disarm sophisticated sensors and slip into the high security building like wraiths - and are the last sight the building‘s guards will ever see. `Ready Wildside?‘ one of them asks. `Ready Strobe‘ the other replies as he sets the bomb, before turning to the one called Zero and telling him to get them out of here. Shortly after the enigmatic Zero has teleported the group away, the bomb goes off and the building explodes.
Several hours later, while fire fighters are still trying to get the fire under control, one Mr. Phillips is being interviews by a team of reporters. They ask him about the possibility of arson, but Mr. Phillips argues there is no reason to suspect a terrorist attack on a research facility specializing in passive energy acquisition. However, he is proven wrong when one of the guards rushes to the scene, telling Mr. Phillips that there is an urgent message on the mobile phone.
The cameras record Mr. Phillips‘ shocked expression when he picks up the phone, only to be informed by the person on the other end of the line that indeed the press‘ suspicions of arson were correct. Claiming credit and responsibility for the attack that occurred, the person explains that they are the Mutant Liberation Front, and that their demands are rather simple. They want the two mutants known as Rusty and Skids be freed; otherwise “another false symbol of humanity’s prosperity and liberty will be destroyed“ for every day they remain in captivity.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
The Gift
It’s been a rough and bumpy ride, as Freedom Force - the government’s specially designed mutant police - pursues their escaping prisoner - the mysterious man known only as Cable! Cable’s copper is ahead of his pursuers, and he radios in to X-Factor, only to discover that the radio is dead, and supposes a bullet fired from Freedom Force severed the connection, so it is a miracle he is still airborne. Cable knows that X-Factor’s Ship is up ahead, the Southern tip of Manhattan, so if he can just get there, then he is home free.
In the second chopper, the Blob asks his Freedom Force teammates why Cable hasn’t crashed yet. Pyro remarks that it is an excellent question, as they have certainly given him plenty of encouragement in that direction. Crimson Commando begrudgingly admits that Cable is good - darn good, before remarking that if Cable reaches X-Factor, then Mystique will have their heads! Crimson Commando points out that they are approaching a populated area, so this is their last chance to take Cable down, ‘We’ll have to use rockets - and we better make them count!’ he declares as they open fire on Cable.
Cable’s chopper is spun upside down as he realizes that he lost his rotor and is going down. He manages to flip the chopper back up and snarls that he is not going down alone. He grabs several large weapons and positions himself on the edge of his chopper, ‘Love you, too, boys…here’s a little something to remember me by!’ he shouts before unleashing the weapons on Freedom Force, whose chopper is struck. ‘We’re hit!’ one of them shouts, exclaiming that Cable cracked their rotor shaft. ‘Bye-bye, bunkies, hope you can swim!’
Meanwhile, aboard X-Factor’s sentient Ship, Tabby “Boom-Boom” Smith, Julio “Rictor” Richter, Sam “Cannonball” Guthrie and Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta have been searching for their teammate Rahne “Wolfsbane” Sinclair, all who comprise the young mutant team known as the New Mutants. ‘There she is! Somebody better tell Warlock we’ve found her!’ Boom-Boom mutters, before asking if Wolfsbane doesn’t know they have been searching all over for her. Boom-Boom then tells Rahne that this is very childish.
Sam remarks that he doesn’t mind Rahne being childish, before pointing out that Moira MacTaggert is her legal guardian. Rictor points out that he told Rahne that, before informing his teammates that he managed to convince Rahne to shift from full wolf form into this transitional state, but that she still will not talk to him. Sunspot points out that if Moira said Rahne has to go back to Scotland, then she has to obey. Bobby adds that Dr. MacTaggert thinks the New Mutants spend too much time in danger and not enough time in school, and adds that he can actually see her point.
‘You can see her point! And what about my point?!’ an upset Rahne snarls as she turns to her friends, adding that they needn’t talk about her as if she can’t hear, because she can hear them all very well. ‘Especially in this form, unfortunately’ she adds, turning away and exclaiming that she hates everything she hears lately. Boom-Boom proceeds to tell Rahne that she didn’t need to snap at them, as they were just trying to help. ‘Good grief! You’d think we wanted you to go!’
Cannonball points out to Rahne that she doesn’t have much choice, to which Rahne replies that she knows, and that she didn’t mean to worry them, hiding and not talking, but she just needed time alone to consider. Rahne then remarks that Moira did not sound right when she talked to her, not to mention that she didn’t look right either. ‘She felt wrong…she frightens me!’ Rahne exclaims, before admitting that she knows that sounds like an excuse, ‘I know I have to leave’ Rahne remarks, before shifting back to her human form and declaring that she hates it with every fiber of her being, and tells the New Mutants are her family, all the family she has ever had.
A teary-eyed Rahne looks at Rictor and exclaims that it is odd, for she is missing them already and she is not even gone. ‘I wish the Professor were here…’ Rahne adds, before Sunspot slams one of his powerful fists into the wall, declaring that Rahne may be young, but that it is no reason to treat her like an ordinary child. Bobby adds that they were born with these awesome powers and have a responsibility to fight evil. ‘If that puts us in danger sometimes, then that’s the price we have to pay!’
Meanwhile, on Manhattan’s East River, several youths are walking beside the river and one of them exclaims that something is burning. ’What? Where?’ another asks. ’Out in the bay!’ the first youth exclaims, when suddenly Cable pulls himself up out of the water and announces that there was a terrible accident, that a couple of choppers went down and are still in the water. Several passers-by all gather around and one of them asks Cable what he is doing. Running away, Cable replies that he is going to call an ambulance and get the cops.
A child tells Cable to wait here while he will go and get the cops, but Cable is adamant that he will go get the cops, and tells the civilians to stay here and help the others make it up on to land. ‘Make them lie down - they’ll probably be in shock!’ he tells them. The civilians all look over the barrier and announce that the survivors are nearly to the rocks. One of them calls down to them and tells them not to worry as the ambulance will be here soon. As he runs away, Cable thinks to himself that if he is lucky, the civilians’ well meaning efforts to help Freedom Force should hinder their ability to follow him.
But, as Freedom Force, including Super Sabre, clamber up out of the water, they look around and the Blob asks if anyone else made it out of the river. A woman suggests that they lie down and take it easy until help comes, while someone else informs Freedom Force that a big guy with a metal arm came out and told them all to help the four of them while he went for the cops. ‘Listen, stupid! We are the cops!’ the Blob exclaims, before Crimson Commando suggests that they split up, and orders Blob to go with Pyro, while Super Sabre comes with him. Crimson Commando remarks that Cable will be headed for X-Factor’s Ship, ‘I want him stopped!’
High over the city, Cannonball blasts through the air carrying Sunspot and Boom-Boom as he remarks that getting Rahne a going away present is a good idea, but that he hates leaving her on Ship alone. Boom-Boom points out that Rahne isn’t alone, as Rictor is there, before she mumbles that she suspected Rictor would volunteer to remain with her. Sunspot remarks that Julio is taking Rahne’s leaving pretty hard, and tells Boom-Boom that he always thought she and Rictor were kind of an item.
As Sam drops down towards the ground, Boom-Boom matter-of-factly explains that Rictor is too immature, so they are more like brother and sister, and could never be anything more. She adds that they are glad they were able to convince Warlock to stay with Rahne and Rictor, to which Cannonball points out that taking Warlock to Tiffany’s would be a big mistake, as he would likely break something expensive, and they would be in hock for the rest of their lives, before asking why they have to go to Tiffany’s, as it is too expensive for his blood.
As the three young heroes enter the store, Bobby asks ’Why not?’ and remarks that he buys all of his mothers birthday presents here. Sam replies that he would too, if his father was a millionaire. Tabby tells Sam that with he and Bobby who have known Rahne a lot longer than she has, and her to give a woman’s perspective, they cannot go wrong when it comes to picking out a present. A jeweller greets the New Mutants, addressing them as “Sirs and Madam” and asking how he can assist them.
Soon…’Are these gorgeous earrings or what!?’ exclaims Tabby as she holds some earrings up to her ears and remarks that Rahne will love them, ‘I mean, how couldn’t she? They look like real diamonds!’ The jeweler informs Tabby that they are real diamonds, and are on sale for a mere two thousand dollars. ‘What?’ Boom-Boom gasps. ‘Plus tax, of course’ the jeweler adds as Tabby drops the earrings back onto the counter, exclaiming that she can see they are worth it, but that their friend does not wear expensive jewelery.
The jeweler motions to a cabinet and suggests that they look in it, as it will give them much better…value. Boom-Boom holds up a crystal wolf to Sam and Bobby and exclaims that it is perfect, and they can afford it. ‘I assume you still take plastic?’ Bobby asks the jeweler as he holds out a credit card. ‘Mission accomplished!’ Sam exclaims moments later as the trio exit the store, with Boom-Boom exclaiming that Wolfsbane will love it.
Meanwhile, Cable has put on a trench coat and rushes down a busy street, unaware that the Blob and Pyro are just around a corner, watching him. Pyro remarks that Crimson Commando was right, Cable stopped for a disguise to hide his metal arm. Blob calls Cable a jerk, and exclaims ‘Did us more good than him, gave us time to catch up with him’ and reminds Pyro that Commando said when they find him, to take him out fast. ‘Look at him, striding along…chump thinks he’s gotten away from us, free and clear!’ Pyro exclaims, before suggesting to the Blob that they take Cable out fast, that’s for sure, but they will not make it easy for him, and suddenly they step out in front of him, ‘Let’s pay him back for the trouble he’s caused!’ Pyro exclaims.
Aboard Ship, Rahne informs Rictor and Warlock that her clothes are all packed, and her special souvenirs are all put away. Warlock asks his friend what souvenirs are, and Rahne explains that they are little objects, reminders of places they have been and people they have met. ‘This photo of Moira, for instance…’. Rahne remarks, ‘…the way she’s supposed to be!’ Rahne puts the photograph into a trunk and Rictor asks what else Rahne has. Rahne replies ‘Nothing, really’, before showing him a piece of marble from Nova Roma and a feather from when they were in Asgard the first time.
Rahne remarks that the last time they were in Asgard, she was so upset about Dani remaining there that she forgot to bring anything back. ‘Then you can have mine’ Rictor exclaims, as he holds out a small rock to Rahne. Wide-eyed, Rahne exclaims that Rictor collects them too, and asks what it is. Julio replies that it is rubble from Lord Odin’s tower, to which Rahne replies that she couldn’t accept it. Rahne declares that she will be sorry to leave everyone, but most sorry to be leaving Rictor.
Warlock approaches them and remarks that he does not want to interrupt them, although he points out that they do not seem to be aware of his existence, but that he can hear someone coming. Teary-eyed, Rahne remarks that it is odd, as she has only known Rictor for a little while, and Rictor replies that he thinks he is the sorriest of them all to see her go, before telling Rahne that she is sweet, and at the same time says what she thinks, ‘You don’t play games, I’ve never known a girl like you before!’ he claims, when, suddenly, ‘Rahne…darling!’ exclaims Doctor Moira MacTaggert as she enters the room.
Moira stands with her arms folded, and dressed in a mini-dress version of the standard X-Men uniform, the award-winning scientist notices that Rahne is packed, and tells her foster daughter that is good, as they must be on their way, adding that she has several stops to make and there is much to do back on Muir Island. Rahne thinks to herself that Moira is her foster mother and saved her life, so she should want to go back with her, but that something about her has changed, Moira has grown so cold, hard and fierce. ‘I can’t go home with her…but it seems I must!’ Rahne thinks.
Near Fifth Avenue, Cable is punched in the face by Pyro, while the Blob holds him in place. ‘That’s for the way you clobbered me back in Washington, mate!’ Pyro exclaims, while Cable points out that they were holding him against his will and without a warrant, which is against the law! ‘Like you’re doing now!’ Cable adds as blood begins to pour from his nose. Suddenly, Cable smashes his head back into the Blob’s face, breaking several of the obese mutant’s teeth and causing blood to flow from his mouth. Naturally, in the shock of it all, the Blob let go of Cable, who kicks Pyro in the face.
Nearby, Cannonball remarks to Boom-Boom and Sunspot that they have the gift, so they should get back to Ship before Rahne begins to think they don’t care that she is leaving. Sunspot points to an alley ahead and suggests that it is a good place for them to duck into so they can blast off in private, but rounding the corner, Boom-Boom exclaims that it sounds like a fight. ‘It is a fight!’ Sunspot declares as they see the Blob and Pyro, ‘Ganging up on someone - like usual!’ Bobby declares.
Sam exclaims that Freedom Force have attacked first, ‘It’s just not us they attacked!’ As he blasts towards their foes, Sam remarks that it is splitting hairs, but he doesn’t think X-Factor would want them to stand around while some poor slob gets pulped by Freedom Force. Boom-Boom and Sunspot follow their leader, with Sunspot remarking that they need to be careful so they don’t break Rahne’s present.
‘What?’ exclaims the surprised Cable as the three youngsters rush past him. Boom-Boom tells him not to worry anymore, as they are here and will not let Freedom Force hurt him. Sunspot knocks over Pyro, before heading towards the Blob alongside Cannonball. Cable thinks to himself that he has seen these three before, on television, as they are X-Factor’s charges! Cable thinks they must be good-hearted kids to lend an old man a hand, but watches as the Blob easily tosses Sunspot and Cannonball aside, telling the New Mutants that he thought they would have learned by now, ‘I can’t be knocked off my feet - and fists don’t faze me!’ the Blob exclaims, adding that whatever hits him just bounces back. ‘And you chumps bounce with me!’
Suddenly, Crimson Commando arrives, and holding a gun towards the New Mutants he tells them that is enough, before placing them under arrest for assaulting federal officers and interfering in a criminal pursuit.
Back inside Ship, Rahne informs Moira that X-Factor and the rest of the New Mutants are gone, so can they leave when they get back. Moira replies that she is in a hurry, and promises Rahne that she can call her friends from Scotland. Rahne begins to protest, when Rictor jumps to her defence, telling Moira that she cannot take Rahne, ‘I won’t let you!’ he declares, before striding out of the room. Rahne asks Warlock to go after Rictor and try and comfort him, while asking Moira how she can do this.
In the corridor, Warlock catches up with Julio and remarks that he is upset, and that Rahne sent him to calm him. Julio tells Warlock not to worry about it, and that he hated to worry Rahne like this, but the freak-out was necessary, ‘For the benefit of that leather-bound witch!’ he exclaims. Warlock replies that he doesn’t understand, to which Rictor explains that he has a plan that will keep Rahne here, perhaps not forever, but at least until the others, and he hopes X-Factor, return. Julio motions to the elevator, and inside, tells Warlock that he agrees with Rahne, that Moira is not right, and therefore he wants the others to get as look at her. As Moira approaches the elevator, Rictor tells Ship to take him up to the helipad, and to close the door before Moira reaches them, as he is beginning to think there is something seriously wrong with her!
Soon, on the helipad, Rictor stands by Moira’s chopper, while Moira and Rahne arrive and Moira remarks that Rictor made quite a scene. Rahne explains that it is because he doesn’t want her to leave. ‘Then why isn’t he here to say goodbye to you?’ Moira asks, unaware that he is in fact nearby. Moira tells Rahne that she must realize that none of them care for her as much as she does. ‘That’s what you think, witch!’ Rictor exclaims, revealing his presence.
Rahne calls out to her friend, before Julio declares that he will not let Moira take her, and begins to use his seismic powers on her chopper, shattering it into shards. Moira rushes over, asking Rictor how he can dare do that, before calling him an ear-ringed punk and telling him that if he thinks such a childish antic can keep her ward here, then he will find out that it has quite the opposite effect!
Back in the alleyway,  ‘You arrest us? That’s the laugh of the century!’ Sunspot exclaims as he stands up to Crimson Commando, and punches him, assuring Cannonball that he only tapped him, ‘If I hit him with the full force of my strength, he’d be dead!’ Bobby exclaims. Boom-Boom runs past the fallen Crimson Commando, who grabs her as she remarks that she wonders if her time bombs would work on the Blob. Sunspot apologizes to Tabby as he sees Commando grab her ankle, ‘I guess I didn’t tap him hard enough!’ he remarks, when suddenly Boom-Boom loses her bag, ‘Oh no, Rahne’s gift!’ she exclaims.
Suddenly, Cable’s bionic arm extends and grabs the bag before it and its precious contents hit the ground. ‘Here you go, miss!’ he exclaims as he hands Tabby her bag, before informing the New Mutants that they are good. ‘Best I’ve seen for youngsters your ages’ he tells them, before pointing out that Commando has still got a gun. Cable steps in front of Boom-Boom, and the energy fired from Commando’s gun strikes Cable’s bionic arm as he remarks that he cannot let them get hurt in his stead.
Commando then gets up off the ground and rushes towards Cable to finish the job, but Cable is faster, and smacks the aged mutant hard in the face, knocking Crimson Commando to the ground, finally, unconscious. Cannonball tells Cable that he isn’t so bad himself, before asking him who he is and what Freedom Force wants with him. Cable introduces himself, before sensing something approaching and urges Cannonball to activate his blast field. Cannonball does as directed, and just in time as the “bogey” - Super Sabre - slams into him.
Cannonball deactivates his blast field and looks down at the unconscious Super Sabre, before asking Cable how he knew he was there, and how he knew how to stop Super Sabre. Cable explains that his bionic eye registered the friction Super Sabre creates as he moves through the air as an infra-red streak. ‘Wow!’ Boom-Boom exclaims when suddenly the Blob lumbers towards them, ‘You jerks think you won, but you ain’t! You forgot about Fred J Dukes!’ he bellows, ‘But he ain’t forgot about you!’ Cable asks Sunspot to activate his super strength, and to attack the Blob - but from the Blob’s point of weakness.
‘Yes sir! With pleasure!’ Bobby exclaims as he attacks the Blob, joking ‘Even if I have to make the biggest pot-hole in New York history!’ Suddenly, ‘You ripped up the side-walk!’ the Blob exclaims as he finds himself falling backwards. ‘And five feet beneath it, Blob!’ Bobby adds, before declaring that he wants answers. Standing over the Blob, who is unable to get up off the ground, Bobby reminds him that Freedom Force kidnapped his teammates Rusty Collins and Sally Blevins, and asks what he has done with them.
The Blob replies that he doesn’t know, and that Freedom Force hasn’t done anything. ‘What?’ Sunspot asks, surprised. Cable informs the New Mutants that Blob is telling the truth, and motions to some reporters who are approaching with cameras. Cable points out that the cops will be along any minute, and informs the New Mutants that they want to be long gone by the time they get here.
Cable and the New Mutants begin to make their exit, and Boom-Boom asks Cable what he means by the Blob is telling the truth, and asks him if he knows about Rusty and Skids. Cable explains that Freedom Force certainly imprisoned Rusty and Skids, but that they escaped with - or were possible kidnapped - by a group called the Mutant Liberation Front. Cable assures the New Mutants that Freedom Force has no more idea where Rusty and Skids are than he does, but promises that he is going to find them.
 Cable then asks Boom-Boom what she has in the bag from Tiffany’s that is so important. Boom-Boom replies that their teammate’s guardian, Dr. Moira MacTaggert is making Wolfsbane go back to Scotland. ‘Moira?’ Cable asks, surprised, before revealing that he used to know her, a long time ago. Boom-Boom then informs Cable that Moira has changed…really changed! ‘I expect you’ll hardly know her’ Tabby adds.
In a communications room, Moira is informing Legion, currently residing on Muir Island, that Rictor, one of X-Factor’s charges has, in a desperate attempt to stop her departure, destroyed her helicopter, which will delay her departure, and her plans. Rictor remarks to Rahne that he bought them some time, before asking her who Moira is talking to. Rahne replies that it is Legion, who is their old teacher, Professor Xavier’s son. Rahne adds that Legion used to have a lot of problems - autism, multiple personality disorder, but that he seems better.
Suddenly, the others and Cable enter the room, with Cannonball apologizing that they took so long, as they ran in to trouble. He begins to say that they brought her a gift, when he asks what Moira is doing here already. Rahne explains that Moira came for her early, but now Rictor has destroyed her chopper. Cable calls out to Moira, who turns and sees him, ‘Cable, you’ve changed, become even more metal than man!’ she exclaims. Cable approaches Moira and remarks that she has changed too - in more than just style, before informing her that the New Mutants have told him that she plans to take her daughter to Scotland to keep her safe. ‘In the old days, you wouldn’t hesitate to fling yourself into danger if you saw a wrong that needed righting!’ Cable points out.
Moira replies that Rahne is very young, to which Cable declares that this looks like Moira telling Wolfsbane that she is not fit to fight for what she believes in, however he believes nature has well equipped Wolfsbane for that battle. Moira tells Cable that he interests her and asks what is in this for him. ‘I believe that with special power comes special responsibility’ Cable declares, before revealing that terrorists are building a bomb that will threaten all on Earth, and he needs allies to stop them. ‘You’d use these children as your army?’ Moira asks. ‘Who better? It’s their world…their future!’ Cable replies.
>From the monitor, Legion tells Moira that although it is not his place to say, he thinks Cable is right. Moira reveals that she was actually thinking the same herself, and tells Cable that so long as he is involved and that his mission is as grave as he says it is, then Rahne may stay with him.
Soon, on the helipad, Warlock presents Moira’s original chopper to her, and remarks that it was Rictor’s idea, ‘Attack on your copter was a joke - ha-ha, funny right?’ Warlock exclaims, before explaining that he mimicked Moira’s chopper and exploded brilliantly to keep Rahne here so they could all say goodbye. Moira replies that it was a clever ploy, and declares that she will remember the two of them for this, before striding over to her chopper without so much as a word to her daughter.
Rahne turns to Cable and tells him that she doesn’t know how he convinced Moira to let her stay, and thanks him. Cable replies that he hopes he hasn’t done Rahne a disservice, as his plan could get them killed. Sam thinks to himself that it is funny, what Cable said about powers and responsibility, is what Bobby said earlier today. Cable and the New Mutants begin to head back inside Ship, and Sam thinks that what the New Mutants were talking about when they came back from Asgard, Cable actually understands them.
Warlock asks Rictor what is wrong, as he doesn’t look happy, ‘Are you not glad self friend Rahne will stay with us?’ Rictor replies that he is glad about that, but Cable is bothering him. Warlock asks why, as Cable is part metal and looks very nice to him. ‘You do not know him self friend, how can you not like him?’ Rictor replies that is not the trouble. ‘He doesn’t remember me, but I know him all too well!’


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Hits and Misses! (2nd story)
2nd story:A grocery store may not be place where you’d expect to find a super-heroine, but here she is, Sally Blevins a.k.a. Skids of the New Mutants, taking her turn to do the shopping for her team. ‘Darn! Why do they always put the kind I want where it’s so hard to reach!’ Sally thinks to herself as she stands on her toes, reaching up to the top shelf to take a can. ‘Oh no!’ Sally thinks, as several other cans on the top shelf fall towards her. She extends her mutant force field, so the cans don’t hurt her, they just bounce off her field and clang to the ground with a lot of noise. ‘Sometimes it helps to have a deflector field’ Sally tells herself.
Sally puts her basket of groceries down and starts to pick the fallen cans up, when she notices a frazzled woman push a cart down the aisle, a baby sitting in the front of the cart, crying, while a girl of about 6 or 7 years old holds up a box of cereal, and a boy of about 3 or 4 follows his mother, clutching at her skirt. ‘Aaron, hush! Jimmy, Stop!’ the woman calls out, while the girl tries to put the cereal in the cart. ‘Mom it’s coco-monsters cereal! I need it, Mom! Sara Wilson’s mom lets her have it. Can we get it, please?’ the girl asks, while Aaron the baby screams some more, and Jimmy tells his mother that he wants to go the other way. Sally continues to watch and thinks to herself that it looks like being a super-heroine is sometimes easier than being a mom.
‘No!’ the woman snaps at her daughter, ‘Didn’t I tell you we weren’t buying that junk? You can’t have everything you see on TV… or everything Sara has either!’ the woman tells her daughter, instructing her to put the cereal back on the shelf and shut up so they can get out of here. ‘We’re running late already’ she mutters. The girl claims that Jimmy wants coco-monsters, too, and waves the box in front of her brother, ‘Don’t you, Jimmy?’ she calls out. Her brother Jimmy cries out ‘Gimmie, gimmie! Mommy, Sara won’t gimmie!’ as Sara dances about with the cereal. The woman tells her daughter to stop teasing her brother and put it back.
As she puts the last of the cans back on the shelf, Skids decides that those kids are pretty wound up, and acting wild. She wonders how their mother will get them to calm down, realizing that Sara doesn’t even seem to hear her. The woman grabs Jimmy by his wrist, ‘Stop it!’ she snaps, while ordering Sara to stop dancing about and put the cereal back before she knocks something over. Sara ignores her mother, and continues to tease Jimmy, ‘They’re mine, you can’t have any, nananananana!’ she taunts, but Jimmy pushes forward and falls into Sara, both of them falling into a display of boxes of laundry detergent. ‘Oh… no!’ Sara utters as the display topples around them. On the ground, Jimmy calls out to his mother and tells her that Sara hit him with the boxes. ‘I did not, you little brat! It was an accident’ Sara replies, smacking her brother on the head.
‘Accident - ha! I told you to stop!’ the woman shouts, grabbing Sara by her arm, she pulls her daughter closer towards her, ‘Now you’re gonna get it, kid, but good…’ the woman threatens, while a wide-eyed, saddened Skids looks on. ‘No. she can’t hit her - I know how much it can hurt’ Skids thinks to herself, as her mind wanders back - she has good reason to know, for back when she was a kid, the lesson was slammed into her every day.
Flashback images:‘You’re gonna get it, you brat! You’re gonna get it good!’ Bill Blevins shouted as he loomed over his defenseless daughter. But this time, things are different, ‘No. please don’t hit me again, Daddy. Please’ Sally calls out as she holds her arms up around her face - but Bill’s face doesn’t reach Sally, instead, it just stops, deflected by a force field. ‘What trick is this, you little witch? You’re some kind of monster!’ Bill calls his daughter, as he attempts another punch. Bill is wrong though, even if his beatings do make Sally feel like a monster inside, both unaware that she is in fact a mutant, born with the power to create a protective field around her body - with one problem. ‘I can’t get it off. It keeps me safe like armor. But it won’t shut off!’ Sally calls out.
Present:Sally remembers that she was trapped like that for years, cut off from everyone until a friend helped her lower her armor and care about people again. ‘Now I fight injustice. And if I know one thing it’s that… children aren’t for hitting!’ Sally calls out as she moves forward and grabs Sara, extending her own protective field around the girl, before her mother can slap her. ‘What?’ the woman gasps as she looks at her hand. ‘Mom… your hand just bounced off me’ Sara calls out.‘My power worked that time, but I can’t stand here forever’ Sally tells herself. She knows that Sara needs protection and that her mother needs help. Skids decides that a different approach will work better.
Skids drops the force field, and extends her hand to Sara’s mother, introducing herself as Skids of the New Mutants. The confused mother shakes Skids’ hand and replies ‘I… I’ve seen you on TV’. Skids remarks that she knows how tough it can be shopping with kids, and how embarrassing it can be to have things topple at the market, and asks if she can help. Skids starts to pick up some boxes of detergent and suggests that Sara and Jimmy help her restack the boxes, while the woman finishes her shopping. The woman doesn’t respond, she just carries on down the aisle, while Sara and Jimmy start to pick up the boxes, and Sara asks Skids why she did that, why she protected her.
‘Because I don’t think that parents should hit their children’ Skids announces, adding that she knows from personal experience how much it can hurt. ‘You do?’ Sara asks, surprised, while remarking that her mom says she doesn’t listen, that hitting is the only way to make kids mind. ‘She smacks us all the time. She says it’s because she loves us’ Sara explains. Jimmy is about to throw a box of detergent to the ground, when Sara grabs it from him, ‘Jimmy! No!’ she exclaims, while raising a hand to smack her brother, but Sally grabs the girl’s arm, ‘Stop and think. You sad your mom hits you’ Sally reminds her. ‘Sure. A lot’ Sara replies. ‘And does it work? Does it make you behave?’ Skids asks. Sara replies that it doesn’t, or she wouldn’t have to keep doing it. ‘It just makes me feel bad’ she explains.
‘So it doesn’t do any good for me to hit Jimmy, either, huh? It makes him feel bad, too’ Sara realizes. ‘He’s got the same right to be free from harm as you do’ Skids tells the girl. ‘Then I don’t get it’ Sara remarks as she stacks the display of detergent. ‘My mom says she loves me and she made me this dress and she gave me a really nice birthday party… so why does she want to hurt me?’ the girl asks. Sally tells Sara that it is confusing, she knows. ‘And it’s good that you told me, Sara. If a kid gets hit a lot, she should tell someone, until she finds someone who can help her’ Skids explains.
When the detergent display is restacked, Sally holds Sara and Jimmy by their hands and walks with them to find their mom, while suggesting that their mom wouldn’t hit them if she knew how bad it made them feel. ‘Did you ever tell them?’ she asks. ‘No’ Sara replies, so Skids offers to be here beside them while they do. The woman pushes the grocery cart towards Skids and thanks her for helping. ‘Most of the time I’m okay, but sometimes when they’re yelling and nagging at me. I… I just lose it’ she admits. The woman kneels down so she is at the same level as her children, as Sara tells her mom that when she hits them, it makes them feel really crummy inside. ‘So why do you hit us?’ she asks.
‘I don’t like to hit you, Sara, but I don’t know how else to make you behave’ their mother tells them. ‘But, mom, it doesn’t make us behave. It only makes us feel bad and mean’ Sara replies. Everyone carries on down the aisle of the grocery store, and Skids, still holding the children by their hands, tells the mother that she knows they are a handful, and that making them listen to her can be a problem, that it is a problem a lot of parents have. Skids informs the mother that lots of local groups have classes in parenting, and that they have lots of ideas that parents can use to help children behave well, ways that don’t involve hitting.
The woman looks down at Aaron who is asleep in the cart and announces that she would love to take one of those classes, that sometimes she feels like she is at the end of her rope with these kids. ‘I could use some new ideas’ she admits. ‘Me too!’ Sara calls out. ‘Me… too!’ Jimmy utters. The woman asks how she can do that, as her husband works nights, and she has to watch the kids during the day - so who could watch them? ‘Skids will, Mommy. She’s my new friend. She’ll help’ Sara smiles, looking at Skids, who replies that she could for a while - that’s what friends are for.


[Assistant]
A Mutant in Megalopolis
The beauty of the twisting tornado is surpassed only by its destructiveness. A child watches in horror and asks why the tornado destroys only one side of the street, but leaves the other untouched. Unfortunately, that’s life. It’s unfair and paradoxical.
Although these images play out on television, the questions they evoke are not addressed by the medium itself. The news station only wants to spew out a few electronic images, death statistics and sound bites before quickly getting to the news it wants to air: heroes! Fireman diffusing a terrorist bomb! Even more death statistics! Of course, the irony that the television itself is what gave the terrorists the power to hold the world hostage. No, the news ignores that, and moves on to reporting more on the drug war. It doesn’t mention the possibility that the “drug war” is nothing but a front used to justify the American military occupation in Latin America. No, those questions also go unanswered. On TV, there is no time, after all. Much like a music video, the news, with its information condensed into split-second images, ensures no one gets to, or even has to, think.
In this post-McLuhanesque era of the global village, TV has the power to manufacture the public’s opinion. It can elect or doom presidents. It can start or stop fads. It can raise and lower hemlines. It can stop and start wars. It can convince its audience to support the murdering, looting, and terrorizing of foreign countries. The audience, after all, never truly gets to see the consequences. All it gets is an array of quick images. Human behavior is its to mold. Some stations even have viewer-interest polls that allow the audience decide what it wants to see. For instance, if the audience decides politics is boring, the station will drop it entirely. Like the marketplace, the news can be consumer-dictated.
It’s time to get a look at a typical viewer. Little Rahne Sinclaire sits cross-legged in front of the television screen, clutching her pillow to her chest while tears stream down her face. A montage of brutal images plays out on the screen – firemen picking through the remains of a terrorist bombing, a helicopter chasing a South American through the a scorched jungle, a southeast Asian soldier standing atop a pile of skulls and bones, a pair of starving children curled up in the fetal position – and Rahne watches it all.
When Boom Boom enters the room, she is surprised to find Rahne so upset. Tears are a real drag, she reminds Rahne. What’s wrong? Rahne explains how awful everything is in the world. People all over get murdered and tortured and starved, and meanwhile, she and her fellow New Mutants get to live in big, fancy home and never have to worry about food or money. “We should give it all away!” she cries!
Boom Boom scoffs as this notion. Why should they give up their lifestyle? “We’re rich, bourgeois, yuppie mutants, living on the endless plastic of credit cards! Somebody’s gotta do it!” As she speaks, a fly buzzes near her face.
“But Boom Boom, I’m serious! Like, what about that tornado? How can God kill one side of the street and not the other? How did he choose?!”
Tabitha, intent on tracking the fly that has just landed on her nose, ignores Rahne. She startles the insect with a quick breath, and as it flies away, she flicks a miniature time-bomb in its direction. The fly explodes on impact. She turns to Rahne and asks a far more important question: why did God create flies and cockroaches and homework? That, Boom Boom says, is the bigger question! “You gotta be Zen about these things, Yin-Yang and all that, embrace the paradox, live with hypocrisy, blah, blah, blah!” she reminds Rahne. In response, the young Scottish girl buries her head in her pillow and sobs. Tabitha sighs. What now, she asks?
Rahne whips around and pushes Tabitha away. She doesn’t understand, Rahne cries as she transforms into her lupine form. She was speaking sincerely and Tabitha only laughed at her! Rahne runs out of the room, leaving Boom Boom confused and guilt-ridden. She decides to blame the TV. Stupid TV, she says, destroying it with a time-bomb. Why did it have to go and upset her?
Wolfsbane exits the underground complex the New Mutants now call home and runs to the stream on the institute’s property. Still in her wolf form, she approaches the clear, flowing water and takes a few drinks, but spits the water out in disgust. Boom Boom arrives as Rahne, still reeling from the awful taste of the water, shifts back into her human form. What’s wrong, Tabitha asks? The water is polluted, Rahne says! Although Tabitha believes her friend, she notes the water looks clean, and remembers they have often played in it without noticing anything wrong. “Y’know, I always suspected the worst poisons were invisible,” Tabitha says.
Still upset, Rahne confesses her feelings of helplessness. As mutants, she and her friends fight super-villains and save the world, but what good is any of it if their powers cannot even clean up a dirty river? What good can Boom Boom’s time-bombs do against pollution? Tabitha shoots Rahne a stern glance and explains to her she cannot take up all the problems of the world. “We’re just a few kids, and neurotic misfit weirdo outsiders, at that!” she says. “Come on, forget it! Let’s do something really politically important like go shopping!” Rahne sniffles and allows her friend to escort her back home.
Unbeknownst to the two girls, a group of children in the nearby bushes watches them leave. The kids converse excitedly about what they just saw; one of the girls can turn into a wolf! They decide to do the two girls a favor and clean up the river for them. While certainly a difficult task, one of the kids has an idea as to how they can accomplish it.
Meanwhile, back in the underground facility, Warlock smiles. He’s a TV junkie, and the plethora of screens in the facility’s control room allows him to absorb every channel at once. Using his multiple sensors, he can watch everything: music videos, toothpaste commercials, violent news shows, Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune, Honeymooners reruns, the cultural channel, nature shows, The Simpsons, Alien Nation, Roseanne, Whoopi Goldberg, The Yellow Submarine, and everything else that’s fit to air. His friends have warned him watching too much violence might make him violent, or watching too much decadence might make him decay, or watching too much superficial, mindless-action infotainment might spread him as thin as the paper in a comic book. Despite all these warnings, Warlock continues to watch, not caring in the least about the possible consequences.
Suddenly, Warlock detects a broadcast signal that demands his full attention. Concluding it must be an alien broadcast, he decides he must capture it as well. He creates an antenna that pushes skyward, piercing each floor of the facility along the way. It intersects Sunspot’s bedroom and wakes him up from his nap, enraging him. The antenna, meanwhile, reaches up into space. Warlock broadcasts his own voice, searching for the source of the transmission. He promises to guide its signal back to his television. He begins detecting an inter-dimensional anomaly nearby; the alien signal seems to be emerging from the vortex. Additionally, it seems to be attracted to Warlock. Suddenly, Warlock reaches out and snatches something out of the vacuum of space, and carries it back down to his headquarters.
Roberto is incensed at Warlock when he returns; he crashed through five floors of their home, after all. Tabitha and Rahne arrive and ask their hotheaded teammate to calm down; perhaps Warlock had a good reason. Bobby doubts it. He can see Warlock has in his hand some sort of glowing creature, and hardly thinks it can be worth waking him from his nap, let alone creating five gaping holes in their residence.
“Please don’t be angry with Self,” Warlock, confused and frightened, pleads. “I believe this to be an inter-dimensional impulse! From outer-space! Or… inner space?” His explanation confuses Tabitha. Rahne asks Warlock to open his fist and let them see what he found, but Roberto decides to open it by force. Transforming into Sunspot, he punches Warlock’s clenched fist and knocks loose its contents: a diminutive, blue alien with a television screen for a head.
An iconic face appears on the alien’s TV-screen head as it addresses the New Mutants. After thanking them, it introduces itself as a “vidiot” journalist from a nearby dimension. Apparently, it wanted to do a story about something the corporate CEOs did not like, so they booted it out. It comes seeking help, whether in the form of military, intelligence, or even freedom fighters. Warlock enthusiastically enlists both him and his friends. Forget it, Roberto shouts! Traveling to other dimensions always proves dangerous, he reminds his teammate. Desperate for help, the Vidiot lays on the guilt-trip. It bows and begs for help; its antenna droops. The emotive gestures are more than enough to convince the empathic Rahne to help.
Suddenly, a vortex opens up high up in the room. The Vidiot, believing it came to retrieve him, greets it with enthusiasm. However, it seems to have trouble opening entirely, but Boom Boom thinks she has the solution for that. She hurls a time-bomb into its center, completely ignoring the objections of her teammates. They each scream nonsensically as its light flares. The Vidiot, however, is delighted. As the vortex pulls them in, the screams of the New Mutants become as distorted and incomprehensible as their corporeal forms. The Vidiot asks them why they aren’t speaking the universal language anymore; it’s impolite, he says. The New Mutants, struggling to maintain their sanity as they plunge through the dimensional vortex, have little room to worry about social impropriety, however.
They soon arrive at a planet the Vidiot refers to as the Global Village. From a distance, it appears to be synthetic; large antennae protrude from its surface, it emits a visible electrical signal, and it has three intersecting, orbital rings of energy. Vidiot describes it as a “writhing, spiraling, zigzag of conflicted impulses, twisted antennas, and criss-cross politics”. As they near its atmosphere, he warns his new friends to watch out for themselves; they’re entering the “media fallout”. They soar past a field of spent advertisements and consumer images. When the advertisers lose their spin control, or use the wrong sound bites, all hell breaks loose, Vidiot explains. As they near finally near the surface of the Global Village – still traveling at a breakneck speed – they begin to see the smoke stacks and smog of the planet’s industries. “There’s a huge problem with media pollution by the cultural imperialists,” Vidiot nonchalantly informs them. “The MultiTransNationalMegaCorporations are polluting the poor countrysides that don’t want the media product showers!” That, he says, is the story he wanted to cover that got him booted from this world.
Before the New Mutants and their companion can splatter themselves all over the surface of the Global Village, Warlock converts his body into a safety net, thus breaking their fall. He makes sure everyone is alright. Once he catches his breath, Sunspot sneers at Boom Boom and asks if she will ever resist her impulses to throw bombs at everything.
Vidiot, meanwhile, seems glad to be home, and shows his new companions around his home planet. While Boom Boom scurries to pick up some of the cosmetic products that litter the ground, the Vidiot explains the Global Village is a free country, where everyone is free to be selfish. Warlock, Rahne, Roberto and Tabitha look around them and see nothing but advertisements, falling products, dollar signs, and piles upon piles of trash, most of which guarded by the Global Village’s gluttonous, slovenly residents. They look zoned-out, Rahne says. Vidiot explains why. The combination of wanting, owning, and consuming too much of everything has resulted in a world whose inhabitants suffer from chronic depression. This consumer heaven, he says, is a breeding ground for vidiots like himself.
Suddenly, a limousine adorned with advertisements pulls up and demands the attention of the stranded New Mutants. On its hood sits an artificial-looking woman with bright white teeth, unnaturally large breasts, and a low-cut dress with the words “buy me” written across the torso. “You need it, you want it, I got it!” she says. “Buy my blue jeans – and look like me! Buy my lipstick – and have lips like mine! Buy my stereo – and girls like me will love you!” Rahne looks horrified. Warlock looks confused. Tabitha looks disgusted. Roberto looks smitten. He asks Tabitha to keep brushing his hair; he wants to look nice to impress the girl. She’s not a girl, Boom Boom says; she’s a Barbie Doll!
The advertising model approaches Rahne and, without getting permission, smears garish makeup all over her face. The horrified Rahne remains still during the process. After slapping on Rahne’s head a wig similar to the one she wears, the advertising woman shows her how she appears in the mirror. The reflection depicts a cute girl with modest makeup and a neat head of hair; Rahne has no idea her makeup looks gaudy and streaked. She now believes herself to be beautiful, and gleefully chases after the advertising wagon as it leaves. It made me so pretty, she squeals! Her teammates try to get her to return, but as they chase after her, they run right into an intersecting TV screen and disappear into yet another dimension.
Earth…
A group of local kids, intent on ending the pollution of their creek, stage a sit-in. Of course, their intention is to impress the cool werewolf they saw earlier. Several of the kids complain; the water is cold, and dirty, and they’re getting hungry! Mookie, the leader, informs them they aren’t moving until someone cleans up their river. After a few more complaints, Mookie decides to explain to them how the media operates. According to his dad, problems like dirty rivers just get ignored unless the networks believing covering such problems might benefit their ratings. A thing is only news, Mookie says, if it’s made into a spectacle. Otherwise, it remains boring, and common, and therefore unworthy of the news. Like kids, Mookie says; kids are not newsworthy unless they make a spectacle.
One of Mookie’s friends – a little girl with dark hair – follows his advice and decides to create a spectacle of her own. While the rest of the kids discuss how polluted the river is, this girl pulls out a blue felt-tip pen and begins making blue spots on her skin.
Elsewhere…
Boom Boom, Warlock, Sunspot, and the Vidiot are expelled from the TV in a new dimension. Their bodies, having just been squeezed through a tiny vent, are now paper-thin and flimsy. Fortunately, Vidiot returns them to normal with a press of his remote control. After this initial shock wears off, the mutants look around at their new environment. Sunspot sees a junkyard, but Boom Boom sees a thing of beauty. After all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, she says. Roberto tells her to shut up.
Meanwhile, Vidiot, gesturing toward the pile of junk, declares it the tip of the media spill he is investigating. The pile contains several statues, figurines, electronics, vehicles, mannequins, and other household and commercial appliances. Something threatening suddenly emerges, however, and the Vidiot instructs everyone to hide. They duck out of the way just in time to avoid the electronic sensors of the M.C. What’s the M.C., Roberto asks? Vidiot informs him it stands for “Manufacture of Consent”. This device, he explains, is a media conglomerate that decides the safest opinion to broadcast.
A figure walks by, engrossed in its cell phone call. It fails to see the New Mutants hiding in the junk. Vidiot identifies the figure as Moopert Rurdock, a media tycoon. They listen in on his phone call, during which he discusses the recent media spill. “This is a very disturbing fact,” Rurdock says. “What can we do?” The person on the other line suggests manufacturing a villain. Rurdock likes the idea, but does not know who to blame. The government? No; they sign his paycheck. The media? No; he is the media. The corporations? No; they would withdraw funding and leave him bankrupt. With no scapegoats at his disposal, Rurdock decides they must bury the fact under a landslide of lies and misinformation. Staging an alternate event to distract everyone seems like the best avenue, he says. They will rent a president and have him kiss a baby, cut a ribbon, throw a football, feed some homeless people, and give out a medal, all at once. After following this up with some purchased expert opinions discussing how the media spill was a spontaneous accident, they will have successfully shaped public opinion and manufactured consent.
From her hiding place, Boom Boom scoffs at this plan. He cannot possibly pull off this cover-up, she says. Roberto asks her to be quiet; he hears a car approaching. Sure enough, a van arrives, adorned with an American flag blowing on top. Rurdock directs it to the M.C. and it parks. Its doors open. Out walks a stiff-looking man dressed in a nice, tan suit. Several helper vidiots prepare the man’s hair, makeup, and physique, and in mere moments, create a flawless, U.S.-President lookalike.
As per the orders of Moopert Rurdock, the Rent-a-President stands in front of a large American flag and salutes for the cameras. “A kinder, gentler world,” he says. He removes his jacket and kisses a football wrapped in a baby’s blanket. “National security!” he says. He picks up a vidiot and throws it like a football. “Education!” He then pins an array of service medals to a homeless vidiot. “It’s the end of history and democracy won!” He makes a quick speech while cutting a sound wire he believes to be a grand-opening ribbon. Without an electronic feed, the subordinate vidiots must hold up cue cards, which he now reads. “Uh…I wasn’t there…I saw nothing,” the Rent-a-President says in response to the media spill. Moopert Rurdock looks on and smiles. Not a bad performance, he says while chomping on a cigar. It had a few goofs, but no one will notice. As usual, the media will lap it up!
Earth…

The gang of children, still sitting in the pond, grows restless. They still haven’t eaten. Mookie refuses to let them leave, even for food. He tells them passive resistance takes time. They can’t give up until they show adults that kids have the power!
Fortunately for the children, an old man happens to walk by with his dog. It’s so late, he tells them. He asks what they’re doing, where there parents are, and, most importantly, if their parents know what they’re doing. Little does he know, he is about to create just the spectacle they desire.
Elsewhere…
Sunspot, Boom Boom, Warlock and their Vidiot friend traverse the barren landscape. Sunspot occupies his mind thinking about everything they just learned. The people of this land must know the truth about all the corporate conspiracies. Unfortunately, they believe they have a free press, and therefore think they already know everything that transpires. It’s like double-censorship, Roberto says. Nobody knows how to read between the lines. Boom Boom suggests attacking the problem at its source. Vidiot informs them they will have to attack Megalopolis to accomplish that. Although Megalopolis is on the other side of the wasteland, they can follow the muddy brown road to get there. He gestures toward an ugly path adorned by a statue that resembles the dollar sign and bears the inscription “Wrest ‘n Fleece.”
Eventually, the traveling quartet arrives at a destitute village the Vidiot refers to as the Third World. Bombs keep falling on the village. More outstanding than that, though is how the villagers do not seem to care. They are just used to it, the Vidiot tells his allies. The bombing has become a part of their lives; were it to stop, the Third World villages would find it weird. They just focus on living their lives.
Suddenly, a rather large bomb lands nearby and explodes, sending the New Mutants reeling. Sunspot demands to know who is responsible. The Vidiot directs their attention upward toward two figures fighting in the sky. These two fight all the time, he says, but the poor countries have to deal with the fallout! Warlock decides to remedy this travesty. Turning into a hot-air balloon, he hoists his friends into the air, much to Vidiot’s awe. Sunspot and Boom Boom find Warlock’s transformation less impressive; they certainly do not appear very threatening in a balloon, after all. They ask Warlock to change forms before they attack.
Before he has the chance, however, they arrive at the scene of the fighting. On a small platform floating in the sky, they behold a figure resembling twins conjoined at the waist. It has the body of a bear. The head and arms on its left side are also ursine in nature. It wears a leather jacket and written across its ample stomach are the words “We’re M.A.D.” The other torso, protruding from the beast’s right side, looks much different. It is a gangly old man in a top-hat printed with the layout of the American flag: it is the mascot of the United States of America, Uncle Sam.
Boom Boom asks what manner of creature it is. It’s M.A.D., Vidiot says; mutual assured destruction. It has been fighting itself for decades, he adds. They overhear the beast arguing with itself. The right side declares the Cold Way has not ended, while the left swears Communism is dead. The right side doesn’t believe him; he will not fall for such funeral diplomacy or charm offensives. Communist, he shouts! Paranoid imperialist, the bear shouts back! Worse, he’s a media terrorist! The more they fight, the worse the media storms in the land below! The conjoined entities pummel each other. Enraged, they decide to push their own nuclear detonation buttons, simply to kill the other. Sunspot and Boom Boom intervene and attack, but their effort has no significant effect, as M.A.D. drops dead once its two heads explode anyway.
M.A.D. falls over, dead. The four travelers stare at its lifeless, smoking body, and rejoice. “Rest in peace, ya bullies!” Boom Boom says to it before kissing the remnants of its left forehead. With M.A.D. gone, they decide to head to Megalopolis to attack the larger problem at its source.
Earth…
The river-cleanup protest, having finally attracted media attention, grows in strength. A Channel 13 newswoman covering the story introduces the children as the “Wobblies Sneaker Gang” and speaks to the leader, Mookie, for an interview. His demands are simple: clean up the river. Kids should have clean rivers to swim in, he says. He and his gang refuse to budge until their demands are met.
Elsewhere…
The New Mutants finally reach Megalopolis, a large city combining elements from the iconic architecture of Washington D.C., industrial smokestacks, New York City’s skyline, and giant, garish dollar signs. Tabitha reminds her allies the only way to get coverage for Vidiot’s story is by turning the news into a spectacle. To do so, Roberto suggests orchestrating an airstrike on Megalopolis. Although Vidiot finds this method violent, Warlock reminds him violence is what the New Mutants do best.
An eavesdropper advises them to rethink their methods, however. “Situation Ethics, at your service,” the eavesdropper says. A line down its center divides its body into two distinct, black and white sides. One side has the word “yes”; the other, “no”. An arrow points both ways. Additionally, patches of black and white have been transposed. Clearly, Situation Ethics is one confusing mess, an observation only compounded when it begins to speak.
“Let’s see, you can intervene in the name of democracy against communism,” it says, “…but on the other hand, communism is dead and no longer a threat.” It walks around, gesturing with its hands as it speaks. “Intervention is usually wrong. But then, so is leaving the world to its own miserable devices. It’s like eating meat. Some say, ‘meat is murder’. Ethics depends on how you look at it. From a cow’s point of view, meat is murder. From a hot dog man’s P.O.V., meat is life. From the hot dog’s P.O.V., meat is existence itself!”
The New Mutants quickly grow bored and confused. As much as they try to interject, Situation Ethics continues to speak, completely ignoring them. “But, if you don’t eat meat on principle, what about your leather shoes, you hypocrite?!” it asks. “How does one figure out if one should eat the cow?” Roberto and Tabitha give one another a look. Should they eat the cow, they ask? The answer is a resounding yes! On their cue, Warlock turns into a jet-plane. They hop aboard, taking Vidiot with them, and speed away before Situation Ethics can catch up. “But, the ramifications! Morality must be considered!” it cries. “Neurotic college students with that disease called academia have written countless dissertations like narcissists talking into mirrors whereby they whittle concepts down to a fine point only two other people can see…” Its words trickle off as the New Mutants get farther and farther away.
Earth…

A drainage line pollutes a creek. At the pipe’s source, the pollution-spewing factory Megazine, the phones ring off their hooks as receptionists struggle to manage the incoming deluge of calls. The company’s advertisers keep pulling their advertisements, and subscribers keep cancelling their subscriptions. As a coup de grace of sorts, a parent group calls with threats of a civil-action lawsuit against the magazine company. The company’s C.E.O. demands everyone stop answering the phones!
Inside, a group of reporters bangs on the C.E.O.’s office, demanding answers to their various questions. How long has he been polluting the river? Was he aware children swam in it? The C.E.O., meanwhile, informs his assistant the story is far too embarrassing to let continue. He orders him to clean up the river before the company goes bankrupt.
Shortly thereafter, the Megazine’s public relations manager gives an interview to the news cameras at the site of the protest. They had no idea they were polluting the river, the P.R. manager says. They were not aware a pipe from their printing factory led directly into the water. They will clean it up right away, he adds, smiling brightly. The children raise their arms in triumph.
Elsewhere…
M.A.D. wakes up from its bout of unconsciousness. The bear side yawns; the Uncle Sam side complains about its headache. What happens, it asks? “I dunno. A little nappy-poo, I guess,” the bear says. Suddenly, the floating platform upon which it rests cracks in two, and M.A.D. plummets to the land far below.
It hits the ground with a loud noise, but thankfully, none of the Third World villagers are hurt. They gather around to investigate the latest visitor to their village. While M.A.D. recovers from its confusion, the villagers look at it and correctly identify it as the monster that terrorized their village for all those years. Up close, it doesn’t look so scary. In fact, it looks downright silly. They realize it is only a single being, yet they are many. The truth of this simple idea astounds and inspires them. No longer afraid, they point their fingers at M.A.D. and tell it they know what it truly is. Upon hearing these words, the monster begins to shrink, until it is no larger than a child’s toy. It runs for its life. The children of the Third World chase it, while the adults stand back and laugh.
Megalopolis…
The New Mutants and Vidiot soar high above the streets of the bustling city. As per Vidiot’s orders, Warlock follows the “Bottom Line”, a thick black road running through Megalopolis, to the city’s center. Soon enough, the quartet arrives and beholds a vast, awe-inspiring structure of ambiguous nature. They assume it’s a church or a temple, but the dollar signs in front confuse them. Nevertheless, they decide to climb its imposing stone steps.
They wheeze and huff as they climb the steps which Sunspot compares to those of an Aztec ziggurat. Tabitha just hopes their hearts will not be cut out once they reach the top. They finally arrive at the building’s altar and find it a mixture of conflicting symbols. It appears to be a place of worship, but why are there dollar signs, and eagle wings, and communist scythes and hammers, and a large coin bearing the inscription “In Greed We Trust” behind the altar? Is it a church? Is it corporate? Is it military? Those in the audience do not seem to care. They sit patiently with their eyes directed forward. Warlock, Boom Boom, Sunspot and Vidiot continue to walk. They note the room’s extensive sound system. It seems like an auditorium for performing shows. Perhaps it’s a media center, or a network, Boom Boom says.
The New Mutants walk up the final set of steps to the altar. Vidiot, quivering, informs them this is the Megalopolis Power Center, and it’s quite dangerous. Neither Boom Boom, Sunspot, nor Warlock care. They start to destroy the altar. Suddenly, a spotlight shines on them, and a booming voice orders them to get off the altar, or be terminated.
Earth…
Having just tested the water in the river, a hired chemist proudly announces improvements in the pH level, bacteria count, amoeba counts, as well as the positive results of thirteen other tests. The water is definitely getting cleaner!
The newscaster turns to the children still standing in the river and congratulates them on getting what they wanted. They managed to hold a corporation hostage by staging this event, she says, comparing their methods to guerrilla warfare. How do they feel about that? “Great!” Mookie says, his smiling face marked with blue dots. “TV’s a powerful medium. It’s time the people got access to it, to its power, and used it to help the world.” Kids, he adds, are not political enough. But they intend to fix that. They will change the things that bother them, and eventually, they might even demand the right to vote! He and his gang then let out an uproarious, celebratory cheer.
Elsewhere…
Rahne – seemingly having forgotten her teammates – sits in a daze at a dinner table, with the garish makeup still smeared across her face. The man at the other end of the table asks why she is still so miserable; she has everything she could ever want: a dreamboat husband, money, all the possessions they desire, and, most importantly of all, a completely P.C. lifestyle. Rahne asks what P.C. means. “Politically correct, darling,” he explains. To elaborate, he points to the sculpture behind her. “That sculpture behind you – it’s recycled garbage! Everything we own is biodegradable! What more could a girl want?”
Rahne knows everything appears perfect, but she still feels so empty. It’s no surprise; her trophy husband is not even human. He merely speaks through a mask resembling a human face. Underneath, he is a dumpy, yellow vidiot, like all the Global Village’s inhabitants. The two kids on the floor are the same way. The fancy dining room is nothing but an illusion. Everything outside its edges is a desolate junkyard.
Suddenly, a news bulletin interrupts the regularly scheduled program on the TV screen, grabbing Rahne’s attention. The news depicts a group of “aliens” invading the capitol. Rahne, however, immediately recognizes the aliens as her friends. She leaps away from the dinner table and transitions into a wolf. Her fake husband screams at her as she flees. What about their children? “Remember, darling,” Rahne says, “…we got them from ‘Rent-a-Kid’!”
Meanwhile, at the capitol, Sunspot, Tabitha, and Warlock stand off against an army of uniformed vidiots in combat helmets. Surrender, the army of vidiots orders! Although the New Mutants do not want to fight, they refuse to surrender. They have a message for the people of Megalopolis and only wish for their voices to be heard. The army refuses. Inevitably, the two sides begin fighting.
Before things get out of hand, however, Situation Ethics returns and pleads for a cease-fire. “You must weigh the pros and cons and morality and immorality of violence!” it says.
“Look, I’ve had enough of your dogmatic lefty ‘situation ethics’,” Roberto snaps. “Sometimes peaceful resistance is the only way and that’s fine and good… but sometimes, chum… you just gotta fight!” He charges into battle. Warlock and Boom Boom follow closely behind and, as a team, pummel the opposing army. Warlock reports none of the opposition shows any signs of life. They must be robots, Tabitha concludes. Not that it matters; the robots can still hurt them!
Wolfsbane arrives in time to join the battle, much to the delight and relief of her teammates. She apologizes for getting sidetracked.
At the base of the altar’s stairs, the touring vidiots cheer at the unfolding battle. They rush up to get a closer look. However, one of the young vidiots – the one wearing a pink “Chernobyl” T-shirt – notices some suspicious activity behind a curtain beside the staircase. It slinks over and lifts the curtain, revealing an obese vidiot in a business suit operating a control room. Charge, rat-a-tat, kill, the fat vidiot shouts into a microphone!
Rahne notices the little vidiot peering behind the curtain at the base of the stairs. Even though she has her hands full with enemy soldiers, she decides to take a break from the battle to investigate. The sight of the bulbous, crowned vidiot operating the control machinery only confuses her, though. The young vidiot in the pink shirt wanders over to the control room desk, spies a video tape clearly marked “secret”, and puts the tape in the cassette player. By the time the vidiot behind the curtain notices, however, it’s too late. The tape begins broadcasting its top-secret message.
The enormous television screen behind the altar suddenly displays the words “OUR PURPOSE IS TO AMASS! HOMOGENIZE! DOMINATE! AND DEVOUR!” The booming voice repeating this message threatens to shatter the eardrums of its listeners. The fighting stops as the fighters clutch their ears, attempting to block out the noise of the message. Fortunately, Rahne, in her transitional form, spots an obtrusive-looking power cord and traces it to its source. She unplugs it, but suffers a severe electrical shock as a result. However, with the power source gone, the vidiot army disappears. The New Mutants realize their enemies were holograms all along.
Disappointed by the emptiness of their victory, Roberto, Tabitha, Rahne and Warlock confront the bulbous vidiot-king in the control room. “Uh – pay no attention to me!” he says, innocently putting up his arms. Boom Boom hurls a time-bomb at his crown, blowing it to pieces. Warlock, puzzled by the vidiot’s suspenders, examines them more closely. They snap off in his hands. The vidiot’s pants fall down, revealing his polka-dotted underwear. The gathering vidiot civilians laugh at the site of the corporate tyrant in his underwear. The emperor has no pants, they chant!
Amidst their hysterical laughter, the New Mutants begin to disappear from the realm. The vidiots barely have a chance to thank them for saving their world from the Mediamogul before they completely discorporate.
The New Mutants, once again zooming through the space between worlds, clench their teeth  and stare straight ahead as they are pulled back home. Their words turn to gibberish during this seemingly eternal trip, which in truth only lasts a moment. They emerge to their plane of reality through their television screen and plummet onto the living room carpet. After regaining their composure, they turn and face the TV. Smoke pours out of its shattered screen. Roberto declares he is sick of television and says they should throw them all in the garbage. His teammates agree, much to Warlock’s dismay.
They gather up all the TVs they can find, load them onto Warlock’s forklifts, and begin carrying them to the nearby dump. Good riddance, Roberto says as he carries a pile of old TV sets. “I dunno, once a vidiot, always a vidiot,” Boom Boom says. Roberto tells her to shut up. During their trip to the trash, however, the New Mutants overhear the laughs of a group of children playing water. Rahne’s heart sinks; surely children are not playing in that polluted river! She sets down her load and rushes toward the source of the noise, hoping to warn them of the contaminant danger.
When Rahne and the New Mutants arrive at the river, they learn from the children that the water is no longer polluted. Tabitha asks who cleaned the river. “Television cleaned the river!” one of the smiling children answers. Roberto, Tabitha, and Rahne stare at each other in confusion and amazement. Were they wrong about the power of television all along?
They return to their pile of TVs and pick them back up. However, instead of taking them to the trash, they carry them back home. Tabitha announces she will make some popcorn, and asks if they saved their copy of TV Guide. No matter, Warlock says; he has the entire thing memorized, and is pleased to inform them his favorite show, Twin Peaks, airs that night! This news excites Roberto, who hopes they can finally find out who killed Laura Palmer. Rahne believes she knows who did it. “They all killed her, but nobody did, because her soul escaped and went into Donna, it’s sinful to think so, I know, and Cooper’s going to marry Audrey, and…” Roberto asks her to shut up; she might ruin the show. “You’ll see, Bobby,” Rahne assures him as the New Mutants finally return home to relax.