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[Assistant]
Dance Hall Days
Washington, DC:
Justin Pierce sits at his office. He gets a phone call, and picks it up. It’s Dani. She jokes about wanting to report a complaint on mutant/human relations. Justin recognizes her voice and plays along. Dani explains that a certain agent promised that they’d get to know each other better, despite him “just” being a normal human, and they only had one dinner together. Dani mentions that there’s a dance at the Xavier school at the moment, and she has to chaperone the students, but doesn’t want to do it alone. Justin gets the hint, and asks Dani to just tell him when and where the prom is going to take place, and he’ll be there.
Meanwhile at the cafeteria, Noriko talks to Jeffrey about the dance. He asks her if she’s going, but Nori claims she’s not the dancing type of girl. Jeffrey jokes if nobody has asked her yet. Nori confirms, but doesn’t care, she wouldn’t go if someone asked. Jeffrey takes off, and goes to sit with his squad. Nori tries to make the ghost-boy understand that they’re just kids and not a squad yet, but Jeffrey doesn’t want to hear it. The other New Mutants notice Nori, and call her to their table. Nori passes Josh, who sits alone at a table and looks sad, but doesn’t say anything to him.
Laurie has noticed, and says she thought she finally had a date this year, and was really looking forward to the dance this time, but now she’s so mad at Josh she doesn’t even want to think about the dance. Sofia has an idea, and offers to go to the dance without boys this year. Laurie thanks her best friend, but since she doesn’t want to spoil Sofia’s fun, she thinks she’ll just stay home. David finds that stupid, and reminds Laurie that her pheromone powers are perfectly under control now, and tells her she should go. He even offers that Laurie goes with him.
Noriko doesn’t understand why everyone is so caught up in the dance. Jay asks Nori why she is so bugged by it all, but she claims she’s fine. David begs Laurie to come with him, and she finally agrees, and says she doesn’t need Josh. Noriko gets even madder. She tells everyone that the whole “Josh-is-an-outcast” thing really should stop, and walks away. Nori gets passed by Julian and his squad, who tell her to watch where she’s going, since he is practically royalty around the school. Noriko ignores him and takes off.
Julian starts to speak real loud around the cafeteria, and tells everyone how confident he is that the Hellions will get the Field Day Award. He claims that it’s tradition that the leader of the winning squad gets to pick his date, but Sofia realizes that this is the first year with Field Day activity, so it doesn’t count. And besides, she adds, she prefers her men to be more modest, and walks away. Kevin approaches Laurie, and asks her what her dance plans are. David explains that she wanted to skip it, but he didn’t want her to, so he stepped in. Kevin obviously doesn’t like the idea, but fakes that it makes sense.
Julian runs after Sofia, and apologizes for his loud speech, but tells her he really wants to go with her. Sofia explains that there’s too much going on between them, and with the fact that they are both squad leaders on separate teams that don’t go along too well. Julian agrees, but thinks that doesn’t count when the summer begins, and asks her what she does when classes end. Sofia mentions she doesn’t have any summer plans, since her father won’t welcome her home. She had hoped to spend the summer with Laurie and her mom, but since they have been fighting, she guesses those plans can be put away. She thinks the fight had something to do with Laurie’s father.
New York City, Dr. Sean Garrison’s office.
One of Sean’s patients is in a session with him. He has been feeling aimless, and has heard that Sean sometimes threats people like him. Sean confirms the rumor, and explains that he sometimes his clients include some super heroes, costumed villains and everything in between. But Sean doesn’t want to talk about himself, and asks the patient what’s wrong with him. He explains that he has these friends, who are just like him, and they have this “club.” They got disbanded a while back, but now they are back together, and didn’t ask him to rejoin. The patient claims to be sensitive and that this has hurt his feelings. Sean wants to talk about that. The patient just wants to be useful.
The patient says that his “club,” the Brotherhood of Mutants, have recently attacked the X-Men, a team of mutants who he hates, and the Brotherhood got defeated. The patient, none other than the Blob, can’t help but feel that he could have made a difference. Blob asks Sean if he’s going to tell him the reasons why he shouldn’t be a bad guy anymore. Sean, with a serious look on his face, explains to Blob that there’s one thing he knows for sure: a person has to be true to himself.
Xavier Institute, outside the Danger Room.
Shan tries to explain to both the Alpha and Paragons squad what the meaning of the upcoming session is, but they aren’t much interested, especially when the Paragons just got eliminated from Field Day. A member of the Paragons finds it hard to believe that Rahne left them, and didn’t see the fact coming that she was having an affair with a student. Victor doesn’t see what difference a Field Day now makes, since his former squad mentor, Northstar, is dead.
Shan explains to everyone that Field Day exercises really do matter. She knows how hard this semester has been, and that Jean-Paul died protecting his students. But his squad still needs to train and the school has to keep them safe. For Northstar’s sake. Shan tells the Paragons that she knows they miss Rahne, but promises to find them a new advisor next semester. However, they don’t want anyone new, and just want Rahne back. Shan understands, since she wants the same thing.
Jay enters Noriko’s and Dust’s room. He asks Nori if she’s alright. She says she is, and claims she could care less that David asked Laurie to the dance, and tells Jay that he doesn’t need to check up on her. Jay smirks, and confesses that he didn’t come to talk about David and Laurie, but wanted to ask Dust to the dance. Dust, at her desk, quickly wraps her burka on her head so David doesn’t see it. Noriko understands and leaves the two alone. Jay cuts to the chase and asks Sooraya the question, but she isn’t comfortable with the dance, and doesn’t want to go. She apologizes if she hurt Jay’s feelings. Jay smiles, and promises Sooraya that she didn’t. He already figured that she’d probably say no, but he didn’t see any harm in just asking.
Meanwhile, Noriko finds Josh in… the library! Nori has looked everywhere for Josh, and this is the last place where she expected to find him. Josh explains that since finals are coming up, he needs to study. He used to have David, his smart roommate, to help him with the homework, but now, not anymore. Josh admits he’s surprised to see Nori talking to him, since he thought nobody would speak to him outside squad sessions. Nori explains she doesn’t care about rules, since everyone saw what that brought to the team in the Field Day standings. She tells Josh not to worry about it, and promises that everything will be back to normal next semester.
Josh hopes so, because Laurie seemed pretty upset to him, and he has seen how David can hold a grudge. That’s what Laurie wanted to talk about. She remembered that before all this, Josh seemed to have an idea why David avoids her, and she wants to know the reason, since it’s driving her nuts. Josh promises Nori he will tell her, if she promises to go to the dance with him. Noriko starts to walk away, telling Josh she can’t do that, since she thinks he’ll use her to make Laurie jealous. Josh holds her, and explains to Noriko that David had a real intense dream a while back. He saw a possible future where he and Noriko were married. Noriko’s startled. Josh confirms, and since that isn’t the bad thing, he thinks it’s best he tells her everything.
The spring dance:
The dance is already going on for a few minutes, and some of the X-Men watch over the students while they are having fun. Shan and Dani are sitting at a table together. Shan wants to leave tomorrow, to go find Rahne and talk to her. Dani doesn’t understand, since Rahne made her choice. Shan is aware that Dani is mad at Rahne, but she knows that there are currently two squads without a mentor. Shan already has the grade school, and there’s no way she can help both squads next year. Dani, looking around the room, tells Shan not to worry, as she already made a few calls, and tells her that Rahne really messed up. Shan knows Rahne did, but she saw how the kids miss her. She can’t give Northstar back to the Alpha Squadron, but can give Rahne back to the Paragons.
Dani understands. Dani suddenly smiles, and stands up when she sees Justin. She was starting to think that his FBI job would keep him away until the last minute. Justin smiles, and tells Dani not to worry, as he wouldn’t have missed this for the world.
Elsewhere at the party room, Cyclops and Emma thank Laurie’s mother, Gail, for helping with the chaperoning, and always like it when parents take interest in the school activities. Gail says it’s nothing, as she tries to be as much in her daughter’s life as she lets her. Emma has noticed how good Laurie is progressing on the social front, and really is starting to come out of her shell. Gail finds that wonderful, but wonders if Laurie would use her powers to manipulate a social event like this. Emma knows how tempting it might be, but sees Laurie as a very responsible girl.
Gail notices Laurie standing with her friends. Gail says hi to her. Laurie is surprised, since she didn’t knew her mom would be coming. Gail would have told Laurie, but didn’t have the chance since Laurie hasn’t come for dinner lately. Gail notices David and asks the boy if he’s Laurie’s date. David says he is, but promises that he’ll make sure Laurie has fun and stays safe. Gail is certain he will do that.
Kevin is watching the whole thing from the back. Julian notices, and tells Kevin his problem: he keeps focusing on what he can’t have, while there’s a wonderful girl dying to spend the night with him. Kevin watches at Cessily, and admits that he finds her a nice girl, but doesn’t think it’ll be the same as with Laurie. Julian lets Kevin have his way, and just wants himself to have a nice night, together with his three dates… the Stepford Cuckoos!
Josh and Noriko are sitting on a bench, looking at everyone. Josh notices Laurie, and jokes that his ex-girlfriend is with Noriko’s ex-husband. She can’t laugh at the joke. Josh apologizes, and was just trying to find the funny part in this miserable evening. Quil approaches them, and asks Noriko if she wants to dance with him. She agrees, and they go over to the dance floor together, leaving Josh alone.
Josh watches her friend dancing, and is still bored. Suddenly, he is greeted by Magma, who remembers Josh. Josh remembers her too, as Dani’s friend. Amara recalls their first meeting, and that the school infirmary got destroyed in the process. Josh apologizes for that. Amara tells him not to be, as he healed her and she was just confused at the time. She has also heard that Josh is the boy who gave Rahne her powers back, and understands that those circumstances were equally disastrous. Josh jokes that he’s a one-man wrecking crew. Magma smiles that at least Josh always has good intentions, and that’s a good start.
Julian notices Sofia standing with Jay, and leaves the Cuckoos alone. He asks Jay if he minds cutting in, but Jay says that’s not his decision to make. Sofia asks Julian if he isn’t too busy with his three dates. Julian smiles, and just wants one dance, and grabs her hand. Sofia jokes that Julian couldn’t settle for just one of the Cuckoos. Julian jokes back that he could have ended up worse: there used to be five of them. Sofia falls into Julian’s arms, and they start dancing. She wonders how many people are watching them, and wonder why two squad leaders who obviously hate each other’s guts are dancing together.
Julian doesn’t care about the others, and wants to talk about the upcoming summer. He mentions that his parents are at the Caribbean for the entire season, which leaves the house wide open to him. He was going to invite the other Hellions over, but he’d rather invite Sofia. Sofia is surprised that Julian is asking her to spend the entire summer with him. Julian isn’t, and says he’s only asking her to spend a part with him, since he’d really like to know her better, and thinks a beautiful place like California is a good place for that.
Laurie notices Josh with Amara, and thinks he has found a date after all. David recognizes Magma, and corrects that she’s just one of Dani’s friends. Laurie gets upset and suspects that Josh is going through them all. Laurie asks David to kiss her to make Josh jealous. David refuses to do that. Laurie smiles, and asks David if he really doesn’t want to kiss her. She starts to glow, and uses her pheromone powers on David. He smiles, and they kiss!
At the same time, Dani and Justin are talking about Rahne’s situation. Dani hasn’t talked to her since she left, but Dani defends that Josh isn’t just a student to her, she’s also his legal guarding. Justin doesn’t mind dating a single parent, as he’s starting to feel that she’s worth it. Dani hears Josh shouting, as he has noticed David and Laurie kissing. He even calls David a traitor. Justin tells Dani to go take care of it. Magma tries to stop him, but with no luck. Dani manages to catch Josh. She also thanks Amara for answering her call, and wants to talk to her after this. Josh is angry, but Dani tries to tell him that he and Laurie broke up, and that she is just moving on.
Laurie stops kissing David, and thanks him. David mumbles he’ll do anything to make her happy. Sofia gets angry, and uses her wind powers to get David away from her. Laurie wants to know why Sofia did that, and lies she didn’t use her powers. David wakes up and, when he realizes what happened, he angrily walks away. Laurie tries to apologize,  saying that it was nothing and just to make Josh jealous, though David doesn’t want to hear it. Julian asks Sofia if she wants him here, or if he should go. Sofia wants to go talk to her friend. That’s fine by Julian, and he leaves.
Sofia shouts at Laurie that she knows better than this, but Laurie doesn’t know what Sofia’s talking about. She is tired of being ashamed of her powers, and claims that it was harmless. Sofia tries to make Laurie understand how David took it, but Laurie tells her to be quiet. She doesn’t want to hear from Sofia how bad her powers are, since she gets enough of that from her mother. Laurie turns around, and realizes that her mother was standing the whole time behind her, and has heard everything she said. Gail cries, and runs away.
The next morning:
Dani gets called to Cyclops’ and Emma’s office. They report to her that they are leaving today, besides the fact that it’s the prize giving ceremony today. Scott explains that the X-Men have been asked to meet with the Avengers, and that this seems to be very important. Dani understands and wants to let the students know that the ceremony has been postponed. Emma doesn’t want that to happen. Dani panics a bit, since with now both the headmaster’s and Havok’s team away, there won’t be any of the key facility around. Emma tells Dani she can do the prize giving ceremony. Dani doesn’t understand, since Scott and Emma are the headmasters and they should be there.
Emma gets serious, and tells Dani that if she is ever going to repeat what she is about to say, she’ll deny it. Emma tells Dani that this day is for her, and not for the headmasters. Emma feels that Dani has been giving more to the students as a full-time teacher than Scott and she can give as X-Men. Dani really should run the ceremony. Dani jokes that if she deserves to run the ceremony, she also deserves to run the school. Emma tells her not to push it, and she and Scott leave, promising to be back soon.
New York City:
The X-Plane soars over the city. The citizens below stare in awe at the magnificent plane. The Blob is hiding in a dark alley, and also notices the plane. He realizes that, if the X-Men are there, the school has got none of them. He’s stops a driver, and threatens the guy to bring him to the Institute. Triumphantly, Blob thinks it’s time that he’s true to himself!


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[Assistant]
School’s Out Forever
The Xavier School For Higher Learning, the Annual Prizegiving Ceremony…
Sofia walks up to Laurie’s mother and asks Gail if she has come to see Laurie. Gail admits that she had hoped to speak to her today. Sofia hopes so too, because Laurie wouldn’t talk to her last night, and she honestly doesn’t understand why Laurie would use her pheromone powers on David like that. Gail doesn’t understand either, as she taught Laurie better and always reminded her about the bad way her father used his similar powers for evil.
But, Gail says, she has also come to support all of the kids here at the school, and asks Sofia if the New Mutants are going to win any prices today. Sofia thinks maybe David for Academic Achievement, but not the New Mutants as a team, as their chemistry has been… off lately. Laurie passes by and says hi to both her mom and Sofia, but, before Gail can say anything, Laurie passes them and walks over to the rest of the team.
Elsewhere, Dani and Magma are talking. Amara has noticed how much time Dani has been spending with the FBI agent. Dani admits that she likes Agent Pierce, which Amara has noticed. Dani changes the subject, as she didn’t invite Amara to the school to discuss her love life: she wants to know what Amara thinks of the job offer. Amara has been thinking about it since she got the offer, but wants to know if Scott and Emma really want her on staff. Dani admits that, since they desperately need new faculty. Plus, Amara will always have a home there. Nonetheless, Dani is really glad that Amara is there today, since all the senior faculty are away. Amara tells her friend to hold, as she hasn’t agreed on anything yet. But, she’ll be glad to help with the Prize-giving, should that be needed. Dani thanks her, but thinks she can handle it. But with the X-Men away, she’s glad to have backup, in case something goes wrong.
Dani couldn’t be more right: at the same time, the Blob and his kidnapped chauffeur enter Salem Center, and the Blob is glad to be back, as it has been a long time. He warns the Xavier Institute to be ready, because here comes the Blob!
New York…
Rahne is searching for a missing guy’s scent in a trashcan, but can’t find anything. She asks the various Multiple Men if they’ve found anything, but they haven’t either. Shan enters, and jokes that Rahne really has moved on to bigger and better things. Rahne corrects that she truly has: a mother hired them to track down her ex, who kidnapped their daughter. The poor woman is sick with grief. Jamie tells Rahne she can take a break, as neither the guy nor the kid are there, and it looks like she and Shan have some catching up to do.
They go to a diner. Shan notices that Rahne doesn’t hide her accent anymore. Rahne explains that she doesn’t need to impress Jamie, as he knows her as an adult. And she needed to impress Dani and Shan, because they’ll always see her as the wee one from their school days. Shan asks Rahne if she and Jamie are together. Rahne denies that. Maybe there’s one of his duplicates who feels that way, but then there’s one duplicate of Jamie who feels that way about anyone.
Shan apologizes for coming on hard on Rahne before, but things have been hectically at the school lately. Rahne knows, as she heard what happened to Northstar. Shan mentions that the school has her covering Jean-Paul’s squad now, including the one from Rahne. Rahne asks about the younger kids. Shan has them, too! She is exhausted. She tells Rahne she knows what happened between her and Josh was bad, but her squad really misses her. Shan also knows that Dani was angry and, if Rahne comes back, she’ll have to deal with Dani and the consequences. But she knows Rahne is strong enough to handle both situations, and wants her to at least think about coming back.
The Xavier Institute…
Dani begins her speech. She mentions that it’s been a big year for all of them. And, as the students know, they have instituted a new Field Day Program that allows squads of students to compete against one another, and that it was a chance to learn strategic thinking and teamwork. And now, Dani would like to award the trophy to the squad that has performed the best. It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the standings.
Julian already stands up, but Mercury asks him to wait, as Dani hasn’t said his name yet. Julian doesn’t want to wait, as he knows she is just going to call their names. Dani calls forward the squad who’s impressive performance won this year’s Field Day events: the Hellions!
Josh calls it a waste, and thinks it should have been they who won the prize. David tells Josh to just shut up. Noriko doesn’t care, and thinks it’s still great that David is going to win the Award for Academic Excellence. Jay thinks so too. David isn’t sure, as he has been thinking about his senior year, and thinks about maybe skipping school early. Dani continues the ceremony, and hands out the Award for the student who has most improved. Laurie notices her sad mother walking away.
Though, the Blob tells her to wait, and throws the fence against her, making Gail faint! Everyone starts to panic! Dani warns everyone to get inside. Laurie wants to go help her mother, but Dani tells her to just go inside as she’ll get her. The Blob laughs, as he’s immovable, but Amara flames up and tells Blob that she has heard he’s only immovable when there’s ground beneath him. She attacks him with hot fire. The Blob begs her to stop, as… it tickles!
Magma continues her attack, but the Blob pushes her aside. He goes over to the kids, thinking they might do the trick. Julian protects them with his telekinetic forcefield. Pierce tries to shoot Blob, but the bullets don’t even hurt him. Dani moves closer to the Blob. She knows he can’t feel pain, but what about fear? The Blob relieves his days at the circus where everyone was laughing at him, and how Wolverine mocked that he wasn’t one of his worst enemies, and the fact that Exodus didn’t invite him in his new Brotherhood, thinking him to be useless.
Blob shouts that he isn’t useless and, covering the tears in his eyes, he breaks a nearby tree and pushes it towards Dani. Justin manages to just in time rescue her. Inside, Julian and Josh are watching the battle. Josh wants to go do something. Julian agrees, but wants the Hellions to go save the day, as they’ve got more firepower. David corrects that this isn’t about squads: they all have to do something.
Dryad fears that they could get killed out there, or give the Blob even more targets to hit. David agrees, but at the same time they could also give the Blob more opponents. He thinks that Dryad is right and that a handful of the students should be enough to deal with the Blob. Julian agrees, and asks David, since he is the big brain, what they should do. David uses his goggles, and analyzes that the Blob is super-strong and immovable when his feet are planted and immune to almost every kind of harm. David wants the other squads to stay inside and protect the younger students, while the New Mutants and the Hellions move over to action. David also asks the Stepford Cuckoos to telepathically coordinate their attacks, which they promise to do.
With everything agreed, the combined forces of the Hellions and New Mutants move outside, ready to confront the Blob! Julian traps him inside his forcefield, and Sofia hits him with her winds, planning to make sure Blob will feel it. The Blob tries to get out of the forcefield, wanting to make the kids pay for this. David telepathically warns Jay to get Sofia into safety, which he does. Julian is still there, but David has a plan.
Tag uses his powers to increase Julian’s, and they make the Blob want to run. Kevin realizes that the Blob is only going to run if he’s out of range of Brian’s tag effect. Kevin wants to go in and use his powers on the Blob. Mercury realizes that Kevin’s attack could have two effects: either way his powers won’t work and the Blob will kill Kevin, or else Kevin’s powers will work and he’ll kill the Blob. Either way, Cess won’t let that happen.
Josh notices that the Blob is still standing, and asks Laurie to use her pheromone powers. Laurie thinks they are useless and wants to forget about the Blob, since her mom is injured. She asks Josh if he can help her with his powers. Josh runs outside, joking Dani that he never does what he’s told and that’s why he isn’t inside, and heals Laurie’s mom and tells Laurie to do her thing.
Noriko sees all their attacks to be useless, and wants to overload her gauntlets by sucking in all the juice, and then release it. David remembers his dream sequence in which Nori did the same, which killed him and destroyed the White House, and shouts to her not to do it. Noriko doesn’t understand. David shouts her not to be stupid, and never suggest such a thing. He noticed that the Blob was affected by Tag, which means telepathy works with him, which is the territory of the Stepfords.
Laurie runs towards the Blob, and uses her pheromone powers on him to make him fall asleep. The Blob is stronger than the attack, since he has been in control of his body his entire life and won’t obey. The Cuckoos move in, and use their combined telepathic powers to render the villain asleep. The Blob falls down and almost hits Laurie but, luckily, she is rescued in time by Jay, who flies her to safety before impact.
Meanwhile…
Rahne shows Shan around Mutant Town. Rahne finds it weird that mutants finally have a place for their own. Shan mentions that they’ve always had such a place at the school. Madrox runs towards Rahne, warning that their guy has come home and it’s time for them to make their move. Rahne takes a quick goodbye from Shan, telling her that the school isn’t her home now, but maybe someday. She leaves together with the Multiple Man, and asks Shan to tell her former squad that she is sorry.
The school:
SHIELD agents arrive to apprehend the Blob. Since he’s too fat for them to move, Julian offers his powers and helps out. Justin says since SHIELD now has the Blob, the case is out of his jurisdiction, but promises to find ways to stay in touch with it. Magma felt good to defend the school again, and to see the students do the same thing. She agrees to stay, and start working next semester.
Laurie walks over to her recovering mother. She says hi, but Gail tells her it’s okay: Laurie doesn’t have to say a word. She loves her too. Julian walks over to Sofia, telling her that the whole squad rivalry thing was overrated, and that they worked together just fine when they needed to. Julian asks Sofia what she thinks about his earlier offer: he’s inviting his squad over to his parent’s house for a few weeks, promising that it’ll be a blast and that he’ll be good. Sofia smiles, and tells Julian to keep trying as it makes her happy. Though, seeing Laurie and her mom back together, she thinks their plans are going to work out just fine now. She asks Julian to spend some time together another time. That’s fine by Julian, but he’ll hold Sofia to the promise.
David walks over to Noriko, who sits along against a tree. He wants to talk to her about before, and just thought that Nori should never blow herself up. Noriko tells him not to be stupid: she just wanted to blow up her gauntlets! She shouts at David to get over about whatever happened between them in his dream sequence, since it’s driving her crazy. She also doesn’t care that David has a thing for her and saw them married, but she wants him to stop treating her like garbage. David is left speechless, and Noriko just walks away from him, followed by Jay.
Josh meets up with David, wanting to have a talk. David doesn’t want to have it now. Julian doesn’t want to wait and want to talk right now, because next year they’ll still be in the same squad. David tells Josh to just look in front of him, and notices everyone walking their separate ways. He asks Josh what squad he is talking about, since… the New Mutants are finished!


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[Assistant]
House Divided - part 1
In New York City, a special prize-giving ceremony is being held on the steps of the New Mutant Leadership Institute. Headmaster Xi’an Coy Manh is giving a congratulatory speech to the students at her Institute. She summarizes the Institute’s mission: to shape the future leaders of mutantkind and prepare them to carry on the traditions and leadership set by Lord Magnus. She emphasizes that they are not here to learn how to fight but how to lead for the betterment of mutants and humans.
 David Alleyne is about to be named valedictorian, much to the chagrin of salutatorian, Quentin Quire. Laurie tells David to ignore Quentin who is just a sore loser. Tag jumps in to defend Quentin, saying that he earned his grades unlike David. Quentin is none too pleased with Tag’s efforts to defend him.
Outside the Institute, a band of human terrorists wait for the right moment to strike. Over a dozen suicide bombers rush up the steps of the Institute with orders to detonate their bombs when they get close to the students. They shout out “No New Mutants!” as they reach the assembled students. Headmaster Manh tries to possess them with her mental powers but finds that they are somehow immune to her powers.
 One of the terrorists detonates his bomb but the explosion is caught in a telekinetic field from above. Descending from a SHIELD helicarrier is a band of Junior SHIELD Agents called the Hellions under the command of Agent Moonstar. Scion AKA Julian Keller remarks that they aren’t about to let a bunch of terrorists make the New Mutants look bad…since that’s their job, establishing the rivalry between the New Mutant Leadership Institute and the SHIELD Trainee Program.
The lead terrorist pulls out a pair of guns and says that they cannot let the sins of Japan go unpunished. He says that SHIELD should have sent the Red Guard after him not a bunch of children. Scion blocks the blast with his telekinesis and begins shouting orders to the other members of his squad. Synch mimics the powers of some of the Institute students and blasts several of the bombers.
Meanwhile, Prodigy assesses that the terrorists are immune to psionic powers like his, Tag’s and the Stepford Cuckoos. Laurie is eager to use her pheromones against them, but David reminds her that they aren’t combat-trained and to let the Hellions handle it.
 As he says this, a female terrorist sets off her bomb nearby. Mercury jumps between them and stretches her metallic form to shield them from the blast. Headmaster Manh echoes David’s sentiments, ordering her students to stay behind Cessily’s shield and out of the fight.
Sooraya and Jubilee refuse to back down and use their powers to defend themselves to the surprise of their fellow students. Prodigy notes that neither of them has ever been too good at doing what they’re told and that they’re going to get themselves killed.
 Julian notes that most of the New Mutants are running scared and that his team needs to end this quickly. Surge zooms about using her lightning speed to snatch the detonation devices from the terrorists’ hands. Wind Dancer takes down another terrorist and disables their escape vehicle.  The final terrorist is about to push the button on his detonator but is stopped by Quill who shoots a barrage of spikes into his hand. The leader of the group is grabbed by Scion. He and the others are arrested and taken into custody for questioning.
As Agent Moonstar congratulates her team on their first field mission, Headmaster Manh pulls her aside and questions why the safety of her school was left to a team of trainees instead of a fully-trained SHIELD squad. Agent Moonstar informs Manh that the Hellions are the elite squad of SHIELD trainees and that they got the job done, unlike her students. She also lets Headmaster Manh know that she heard her speech and that she should be careful what she says in regards to her pro-sapien comments.
 Headmaster Manh tensely thanks Agent Moonstar for her assistance though she is clearly not pleased to hear that SHIELD is monitoring her school. As the Hellions leave, Julian and Sooraya exchange snide remarks, each demeaning the future roles intended for the other. Jubilee encourages Dust to let it go, noting that Scion s only mildly cute. Dust wonders why the cute ones are always such jerks.
Laurie is also condescending to the Hellions, telling them to “go back to their cages”. This angers Sofia who calls the New Mutants a bunch of snobbish cowards and tells Laurie that she’s a “Daddy’s girl” and the worst of them all. Laurie is reprimanded by a teacher, Doug Ramsey who leads her away. Sofia says to Quill that she hates Laurie and he tells her not to let it get to her.
As the Hellions leave, Surge exchanges a furtive glance with David Alleyne. The two meet secretly in an alleyway and kiss. After making sure they weren’t seen sneaking away, the two check in with each other following the attack. David is clearly not pleased to be saved by the Hellions and wishes that Noriko were still at the Institute. She says that her powers make her a natural fit for SHIELD and the two decide to make out some more rather than continue what seems to be an ongoing debate.
Back at SHIELD headquarters, Agent Moonstar receives a new assignment for her Hellions from SHIELD Red Guard, Mystique. Moonstar doesn’t see how she can ask her team to do this and Mystique suggests that perhaps a change of plan is in order. Elsewhere, Julian and Sofia are snuggling on a couch watching a wrestling match between Rockslide and Strongarm. The pair speaks briefly about their future as SHIELD agents and Julian confesses that he wishes they could use their powers in less life-threatening situations. Julian expresses his concern for Sofia’s safety. Their talk is interrupted by Moonstar who summons the two lovebirds to a team meeting.
The Hellions are introduced to their new teammate, Magik. Scion says they don’t need a new team member, especially one as young as Illyana. She teleports him to the bottom of an active volcano to prove her worth to the team. He relents and affirms that she’s in.
 Moonstar explains that they have a new mission and that Magik will be replacing Surge. She explains that the bombers today were affiliated with a human terrorist cell in Japan and that their mission is to find them and shut them down. She notes that Emperor Sunfire is not pleased with their activities. Noriko is confused and asks why she’s being excluded from the mission when she is the one team member who knows Emperor Sunfire and speaks Japanese. Moonstar points out that the terrorist leader has been identified as her father, Seiji Ashida.
Back at the New Mutant Leadership Institute, Headmaster Manh reminds her students that Dr. Sean Garrison is available for personal counseling in the wake of the day’s traumatic attacks.  The students casually discuss who might go in for a session and Dust and Jubilee opt to head to the mall instead. Quentin says that they shouldn’t trust Garrison and the Stepford Cuckoos reply that they trust Garrison more than they do him. They make it perfectly clear that no one at the school likes Quentin. Brian says that he likes Quentin, who could care less. Quentin notes the surprising arrival of Noriko Ashida who asks for David. Mercury points her in the right direction and the New Mutants all wonder why she’s there.
Nori finds David and tells him she’s been given time off. He’s excited and offers to get tickets to the Josh Guthrie concert coming up. She clarifies that she’s been taken off the Hellions squad and explains the circumstances with the team’s assignment to take down her father’s terrorist group in Japan. They discuss why they would tell all of this to Noriko and then remove her from the mission. David is relieved that she won’t be on such a dangerous mission and put in a position where she might have to fight or kill her own father.
 She notes that her father is a stranger to her and they haven’t even spoken since Emperor Sunfire removed her from her home and sent her here. She asks if David speaks to his sapien parents and he says he doesn’t and that sometimes feels wrong to him. Nori is confused but wants to try to find a way to defuse the situation and prevent her father from being killed. She says that she shouldn’t care since her father is a terrorist, but that she does. She asks David to help her find her father before the Hellions do and get him out of Japan.
David discusses Noriko’s plight with Laurie and Cessily. Laurie thinks that Surge’s father should be brought in, especially since he tried to blow them all up today. Mercury is just upset that David was dating a Hellion and kept it a secret from them. When Laurie asks why he should be saved, Noriko admits that it’s because he’s her father. She goes on to say that they don’t all have a mutant parent like Laurie and that sapiens make mistakes. She brings up Laurie’s mom and Laurie gets angry and defensive. She says that her mother tried to keep her away from her father and she doesn’t know if she’d care if someone wanted her dead. Mercury puts a hand on Laurie’s shoulder and says that they both know that she would care. Laurie says that it doesn’t change that Nori’s father is a dangerous terrorist and that SHIELD should be going after him. Mercury agrees and tells David that they just can’t do this for him. David understands and agrees that it was a lot to ask of them. Laurie adds that they shouldn’t be getting involved in this, but David says that he has to try for Noriko’s sake. He asks them to keep this a secret and Laurie assures him that they will.
In Tokyo, the Hellions arrive via Magik’s stepping disks in time to thwart a terrorist attack on an employee of Project Genesis. The terrorists train their guns on the Hellions and prepare to fire.
Back at the Institute, Laurie pays a visit to her father and tells him all about the situation with David and Noriko and their plans to intervene on her father’s behalf.
 When she leaves his office, Quentin is in the hallway who confronts her and asks what she and David are up to. She says it’s not his business and he threatens to telepathically pry it from her mind. He does so and sees that David plans to go to Japan and that Laurie’s father told her to go with him. Quentin wonders why he would do this and stumbles upon a dark secret about Laurie and her father. Laurie says that if he knows their secret, then he also knows that he shouldn’t mess with her. He says that she shouldn’t mess with him since he could telepathically shut down her mind, killing her in an instant. She says that that must be how he’d kill himself if he were suicidal. She then unleashes a cloud of black pheromones designed to make him severely depressed. She notes that they give her complete control of him and are untraceable. Blood erupts from Quentin’s nose and mouth as he telepathically forces his own mind to shut off. Shrouded in shadows, Laurie apologizes but makes it clear that she couldn’t have him tell anyone about her until David and Noriko have lead her to the Japanese resistance group. She tells Quentin he shouldn’t have gone in her head because SHIELD likes its secret agents to remain a secret.


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House Divided - part 2
The Hellions arrive in Tokyo via Magik’s stepping disks in time to thwart a terrorist attack on an employee of Project Genesis. The terrorists train their guns on the Hellions and prepare to fire but the Hellions strike back with their powers. Magik once again demonstrates her ruthlessness by using her stepping disks to re-direct a bullet fired at her and killing the terrorist who fired it. Scion orders her to keep the terrorists alive for interrogation. The Hellions make short work of the large group of terrorists, using their powers in efficient but brutal fashion. The rescued scientist refuses to answer SHIELD’s questions about Project: Genesis stating that his work is classified. Magik teleports a handful of the surviving terrorists to the bottom of a volcano to “persuade” them to talk.
Meanwhile aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier, Agents Wither and Josh Foley are using their own powers to coerce a confession from Cameron Hodge, the human terrorist who led the attack on the New Mutants Leadership Institute. Wither uses his power to feed on Hodge’s lifeforce and brings him to the brink of death. Agent Foley then uses his healing powers to restore Hodge. The process proves to be excruciating.
 Noriko Ashida (Surge) witnesses these interrogation methods and rushes in to intervene. She is rebuffed by Agent Foley who reminds her that she has been removed from the Hellions squad. When he and Wither insist on continuing their work, Surge steps between them and defends Hodge. She dodges Wither but is grabbed by Elixir, who uses his “healing” powers to draw Surge’s blood into her lungs, rupturing the blood vessels so that her lungs begin to fill with blood. Wither moves in to finish her off, but she zaps him with a bolt of electricity. She reminds them that she was trained for combat as she takes Agent Foley out with a fierce uppercut punch.
Surge asks Hodge for some answers and he recognizes her as Seiji Ashida’s daughter. He tells her that he is Cameron Hodge and that one day he will destroy mutantkind. He makes it clear that she will be spared, in part for saving his life and partly because her father wants her returned home to him. He says that mutants must pay for the atrocities that they have forced upon the sapien population.
 Surge tries to argue that Magneto’s rule has brought peace and prosperity but Hodge tells her she is naïve and assures her that SHIELD’s interrogation techniques are only a small portion of the cruel methods Magneto uses to maintain his rule. He mentions Project Genesis as just the beginning. Surge demands to know where her father is and Hodge agrees to tell her, if she will agree to kill him now. He argues that SHIELD will kill him once they have the information they want and that she cannot escape now with him in tow. Surge reluctantly agrees.
 When Agent Foley wakes up, he finds Hodge dead and reports what has happened to Agent Moonstar. This has gone according to plan and Moonstar notes that Surge is being followed now that she has the whereabouts of her father.
Back in Tokyo, Moonstar, Scion and Magik interrogate the captive terrorists. At first, they claim not to know anything but when Magik threatens to leave them in the volcano, they confess that the terrorists’ next target was Emperor Sunfire’s personal project, Project Genesis. They claim to just be guns-for-hire and don’t know the details of the project’s aims.
Meanwhile, Surge and Prodigy are at the New Mutant Leadership Institute researching information they need to rescue Noriko’s father. David is working at a station across from Doug Ramsey so that he can tap into his natural skills with computers and languages. David discovers the true purpose of Project Genesis and is shocked by what he finds.
 He goes to get Laurie Garrison, who is meeting with her father and discussing her murder of Quentin Quire. He reassures Laurie she did the right thing and that he’ll handle it from here. David interrupts and asks Laurie to talk about the situation. She agrees and joins Noriko, Mercury and David in the alleyway to discuss their course of action. Noriko is still reeling from the effects of Agent Foley’s attack but insists that she will heal just fine. They all agree that they have to try to put a stop to Project Genesis. They are discovered by Sophie of the Stepford Cuckoos. David tries to say they were just discussing summer plans, but Sophie says that she knows what they are up to and wants to help. Her sisters disagree but agree to keep her secret.
When David suddenly absorbs the ability to speak Chinese, he realizes that Jubilee is eavesdropping as well. She and Dust, referred to as the “Shallow Twins” insist on going along as well, seeing the excursion as a fun road trip.
Inside the Institute, Tag goes to see Quentin and discovers him dead on his bed. He reports this to the administration and is comforted by Karma, who tells him that it appears to be suicide. Brian doesn’t believe that Quentin would do that to himself, but Dr. Garrison arrives and confirms that Quentin had expressed suicidal thoughts during their sessions together. Brian still won’t believe it and runs out of the room.
The Hellions have gained an audience with Emperor Sunfire to inquire about Project Genesis. He tells them that the goal of the project is to recycle waste into useable food. Scion pushes for more details and this angers the emperor. He assures the SHIELD squad that there is nothing about Genesis that would make it a target for terrorists. He then asks why Noriko is not with the Hellions and insists on knowing where she is. Moonstar explains that she took Surge off the mission because of the involvement of her father. Sunfire corrects Moonstar and states that Seiji Ashida was merely her genetic predecessor and that he served as the empire’s chief sapien advisor. When Shiro learned that Seiji had tried to hide his daughter’s mutant status, the Emperor removed her from her family and punished her father for denying her her birthright. Sunfire claims that he is her true father since it was he who assured her future. He tells Moonstar that she was wrong to take her off the mission since Noriko would have tracked down her own father in his service.
Surge leads David and his “team” to Tokyo where they locate the warehouse that Hodge indicated was the base of the terrorists. The terrorists are psionically shielded. Noriko advises caution since her father is inside.  She enters on her own, proclaiming herself to be Seiji Ashida’s daughter and asking to speak with him. She goes as far as to claim that they are there to help. She is approached by a blond man with a large knife attached to his forearm. He asks why they should trust them and warns that they will not be allowed to leave here alive.


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[Assistant]
House Divided - part 3
At the New Mutant Leadership Institute, the Stepford Cuckoos (minus Sophie) offer their condolences to Tag about the death of Quentin Quire. They discuss Quentin’s personality a bit and tell Brian they never thought Quentin was the type to kill himself. This causes Brian to question what could make Quentin feel despondent enough o take his own life. He looks up and sees Dr. Sean Garrison watching him.
In Tokyo, David and his mismatched crew of friends (Surge, Jubilee, Dust, Mercury, Wallflower and Sophie) are confronted by Donald Pierce, the leader of the human terrorists who attacked the Institute. Nori tries to make it clear that they’ve come to help but things escalate into a battle. Nori is still hurt from her encounter with SHIELD agent, Josh Foley but uses the fight to cover for her while she searches for her father. Wallflower, who is secretly working for SHIELD, slips out to call her father and alert him to the terrorists’ whereabouts.
Elsewhere in Japan, the Hellions are inspecting Project: Genesis. The project is converting human waste products into recycled food products, just as Emperor Sunfire explained. Hellion wonders if the operation they’re seeing is really enough to inspire the human terrorists’ fanaticism or if there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
Back at the Institute, Karma catches Tag in her office looking through Dr. Garrison’s personnel files. Brian explains that he is looking for evidence that Garrison used his pheromone powers to manipulate Quentin’s emotions to the point of suicide. Karma says he needs to let it go but cannot help but be a bit concerned when Tag points out that Garrison spent time in Japan which might connect him to the terrorists who attacked the Institute. When Shan tries to further access Garrison’s file, she runs into a SHIELD restriction blocking her access.
Mercury is in combat with Donald Pierce and despite his superior fighting skills, there isn’t much he can do to harm Cessily. The entire fight is being monitored by Seiji Ashida. He is giving strategic advice to his fellow terrorists. Nori finds him and punches him in the jaw. She is appalled that he has become a terrorist. She tells him to call off his men so they can talk. The two groups discuss the threat of Project: Genesis and the futility of the terrorists’ indirect and seemingly random attacks. David and company offer to help get them inside Project: Genesis to attack it directly. The Hellions arrive (thanks to Laurie’s radioing them in) and a fight ensues.
During the battle, Surge grabs Illyana and forces her to teleport them all inside Project: Genesis. Once inside, they find a team of Japanese geneticists performing horrible experiments on baseline humans. Seiji points out that Emperor Sunfire initiated this program under SHIELD advisement. The Project kidnaps the poor humans of Tokyo and subjects them to experiments that force evolutionary leaps, often with fatal results. Scion says that this changes everything and Moonstar replies coldly, “Does it?”
Back at the Institute, Karma has recruited Doug Ramsey’s help in breaking into SHIELD’s systems to find out the truth behind Sean Garrison’s secret files. They discover that he is a deep cover SHIELD agent. They then proceed to find out about his connection to Project: Genesis. As they are reading the file, Garrison arrives and fills them in on the truth. He devised the plan behind Project: Genesis. Shan realizes that the terrorists’ true target was Garrison and their rallying cry of “No New Mutants” did not refer solely to the students at the Institute. Shan asks if Garrison killed Quentin and he replies that Quentin killed himself and perhaps she and Doug will too once his pheromones do their job.
In Tokyo, Moonstar stops the Hellions from taking action and suggests that they lodge a formal protest with SHIELD. Julian argues that action is needed here and that’s what they’ve always been about. David realizes that even Moonstar didn’t know about Project: Genesis and Sophie scans the group. Her scan reveals that one among them did know the truth about Project: Genesis. Laurie Garrison. Laurie is disgusted that the Hellions have joined with the New Mutants in opposing Genesis when they were supposed to take down the terrorists for her. She turns her pheromones on the entire group to incite them to act upon their hatred and rivalry and kill each other.


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House Divided - part 4
At the New Mutant Leadership Institute, Dr. Garrison has cornered Shan and Doug Ramsey and turned his pheromones powers against them. Rather than finish them off, he toys with them a bit by making them intensely in love with each other and then consume them in a jealous rage. As he schemes up the most evil way to kill them and destroy any evidence of his connections to Project: Genesis, Tag arrives and tags Dr. Garrison, causing him to be compelled to run from himself.
 When Garrison sees himself in the reflection of the window, he throws a chair through it and turns to run. When he then sees himself in the computer screen he launches himself through the window and plummets to his death. This shocks Brian, as it was not his intention to kill Garrison. Karma thanks Tag for saving their lives and expresses her regret that Garrison killed himself. Tag feels guilty but wonders if Garrison was such a threat, should they be worried about Laurie, too given how close she and her father were.
At Project: Genesis, Laurie has used her pheromones to induce a killing rage in all those present. The Hellions and New Mutants rivalry has been heightened to the point of murderous intent and the terrorists are also coerced into attacking their would-be mutant accomplices. As the battle rages, two humans kill each other and another throws a grenade at Quill. Synch sees this and dives on it to save his teammate.
Mercury is unaffected by Laurie’s pheromones and confronts her about why she is doing this. Laurie considers turning someone specifically against Cessily but doesn’t since they were roommates and best friends. Laurie admits that even SHIELD is oblivious to her father’s true efforts and decides that since she can’t kill Cessily herself, she’ll coerce the terrorists into doing it for her.
Elsewhere, Nori confronts her father and Prodigy squares off against Scion. Nori evades her father’s attack and goes after Scion. Seeing that Julian needs more room to effectively deal with his attackers, Illyana teleports them all away. Laurie continues to toy with her victims, this time turning Sooraya against Jubilee and allowing Jubilee enough free will to realize that she’d being attacked by her best friend. Sooraya claims that it was Jubilee’s influence that made her abandon her values and faith. Jubilee resists defending herself against Sooraya’s sandstorm. She refuses to kill her friend. Just as Jubilee voices this sentiment, Mercury forms a blade and kills Laurie. As she runs Laurie through she tells her friend that she didn’t give her any choice.
Illyana transports Prodigy, Surge, Scion and herself to the heart of the volcano where they continue their struggle. David comments on her sword which she claims SHIELD located in the mystical realm that is tied to her powers. She attacks David with it but Nori blocks the swing and sends an electrical charge through it that subdues Magik. This distracts David long enough for Scion to get in a telekinetic shot at Prodigy.
 David falls towards the lava and certain doom but is caught at the last moment by Julian. Julian tells David that he never liked him much but he didn’t want him dead. Now that they are out of range of Laurie’s pheromones, they are all back to their normal selves. Nori, however, is still ailing form the damage inflicted by the SHIELD agents who were torturing Cameron Hodge. Both Magik and Scion are surprised to here that SHIELD has torturers on their payroll. Despite their concerns about SHIELD, the group turns their attention to stopping Laurie.
As Mercury cradles Laurie’s body, Wind Dancer clears the air of her pheromones. Sooraya apologizes to Jubilee as Sophie uses her powers to telepathically calm the human terrorists. Magik arrives and Scion reminds everyone that they are all on the same side now. As he speaks, Sophie is shot in the back by Donald Pierce who sees the mutants as expendable now that they’re inside Genesis. Seiji disagrees with Pierce and insists that they all work together. Pierce threatens to kill Seiji himself before allying with the mutants. Moonstar steps in and engages Pierce in single combat.  The other mutants use this opportunity to shut down Genesis. Looking about, David and Julian realize that they’ve led their friends Sophie and Synch to their deaths.
With Sophie’s death, Project: Genesis’ mutant guards are free to act once more. They attack and kill Quill. This drives Scion into a murderous rage and he snaps one of the guards neck. Moonstar continues her fight with Pierce who taunts her by asking how she lost her eye. She responds that a sapien took it and paid a high price as a result. Pierce claims he won’t be such easy prey as he slices open Dani’s abdomen with his blade. She grabs his arm and drives the knife through his neck, killing him in one move. Julian sees the death around him and realizes he is a failure as a leader. He worries that Sofia will be the next team member he gets killed. She assures him that he’s a good leader and these deaths were not his fault.  David reminds him of why they are there and the remaining mutants begin to take Genesis apart.
Together, they dismantle the equipment and free Genesis’ victims. As they are doing so, a noise can be heard overhead. Above the labs, Emperor Sunfire has arrived with a group of SHIELD agents and a small contingent of Sentinels.  Sunfire offers them a chance to surrender. Realizing that if they do that the truth about Project Genesis will never be revealed, the group decides on their course of action. Magik will teleport the surviving test subjects out of there and will blow the whistle on the project publicly.  The rest of the team will buy her enough time to get away by taking on Sunfire and his forces.
Surge provides a distraction and makes it clear to Emperor Sunfire that she is not his child, but a rebel like her father. Together Scion, Prodigy, Jubilee, Wind Dancer, Surge, Mercury, Dust, Moonstar and Seiji Ashida topple the statues of Emperor Sunfire and Lord Magneto and lead a direct assault on Sunfire. As they charge, Sunfire orders their deaths. At that precise moment, the reality-bending wave of energy manifests and things revert to the way they once were. Or do they?


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Campfire
It’s the end of the semester at the Xavier Institute and the students are preparing to leave for the summer break. As the term draws to a close, the New Mutants squad has reached a breaking point due to the growing tensions between various members of the squad. Prodigy and Elixir are fighting on the lawn as Sofia talks briefly with Julian Keller about her concerns about her team. Julian tells Sofia that he has faith in her ability to work it out with her squad since he knows she never gives up and always sees the best in everyone, even him. The two share a brief first kiss before Julian rushes off to meet his squad.
Sofia goes to visit the squad’s advisor, Dani Moonstar to discuss the situation with the team further. Sofia admits that she’s not sure what to do about the group’s difficulties. Dani lets her know that she must do something since several of her teammates have requested transfers off the squad. Sofia meets up with Icarus and Surge at the Grind Stone where Noriko is venting her frustrations with David’s recent treatment of her. Icarus tries to help Nori understand what David is going through and Sofia throws in that all the best romances start with heated arguments. Jay can’t help but agree but Nori is far from convinced. Sofia tells Nori and Jay that as soon as Noriko is off work they’re all going to have a campfire!
At the campfire, Sofia explains that Dani gave them permission to do a sleepover by the lake in the hopes that the squad could work through their recent troubles. As the kids begin their outing, Dani, Karma and Magma watch from afar. Dani shares her concerns about the squad with her friends and former teammates who offer her appropriate words of reassurance. Dani admits that it’s been a challenge, one that Amara is about to take on as the advisor of the Paragons. Karma is especially thankful since she had been doing triple duty advises the Paragons after Wolfsbane’s departure as well as Alpha Squadron following the “death” of Northstar in addition to her duties with the Lower School. Amara shares that she’s happy to help but that she’s also planning a vacation, much to Moonstar’s surprise.
Back at the campfire, Sofia asks David if he’d like to start them off since he is the team’s co-leader. He refuses and the squad sits in awkward silence. Sofia gets a bit angry and lays into them. She tells them that they are a team and friends and nothing is going to get better until they start to talk about it. This leads to each of the team members venting their issues with each other in rapid succession.
Josh says that no one has wanted to talk to him in weeks since his brief relationship with Wolfsbane became public knowledge. Laurie snaps back that Rahne would be happy to. Or maybe even Amara, who he was friendly with at the dance. Josh tells Laurie that it’s obvious she’s mad at him and that everyone on the squad is on her side. Despite this, he tells her that it still wasn’t right for her to use her pheromones to scare him like she did. Laurie says that he deserved it. This prompts a warning from David who reminds her that that’s dangerous territory. Nori chimes in that David is good with warnings since he knows all about the future.
David defends himself by saying she has no idea what he’s been through. She retorts that she might if he’d talk to her instead of ignoring her all the time. Josh throws in that David thinks he has the right to judge everyone and what he thinks is best for them. David jumps all over Josh for telling Noriko about his visions in the first place. Josh then criticizes David for making out with Laurie at the dance right in front of him. David tells Josh that once again, he has no idea what he’s talking about and to back off. Sofia tries to stop the bickering and resorts to using her wind powers to carry their voices away.
Despite their inability to hear each other, the team continues fighting. Josh throws a punch at David who easily dodges his attacks. Josh then falls on his face. Laurie tells Sofia that she needs to talk to them, so Sofia brings their voices back on her winds. Laurie admits to Josh that she manipulated David into kissing her with her pheromones to make Josh jealous. She admits that is was wrong. David says that it still doesn’t change anything since Josh gets no say in who Laurie dates. Josh turns on David and agrees that it changes nothing. He then punches David, knocking his glasses off and sending him tumbling to the ground. Josh tells David that they were supposed to be friends and yet David never even bothered to her his side of things. Seeing things devolve into petty fights, Jay says he’s had enough and leaves. He’s seen how families work and this is just pathetic to him. He commends Sofia for trying but declares that the group is hopeless.
Inside, Dani, Shan and Amara discuss the situation and how things were with their own team of New Mutants. She wonders what will happen to her squad if they can’t forgive each other. Amara points out that Dani herself still hasn’t forgiven Rahne. Dani tries to say that it’s different due to her guardianship of Josh but Shan aggress that Amara has a point. She points out that Dani’s feelings of betrayal are not so different than the feelings, which have caused the rift between her squad members. Dani admits that Rahne is like a sister to her and that she knows she’ll forgive her in time. Amara suggests that perhaps with classes done for the term, now might be a good time for Dani to pay Rahne a visit. Dani considers it.Josh finds Jay playing his guitar and compliments him on his playing. He asks Icarus how he manages to stay out of all the drama and be friends with everyone. He says he’s been through a lot and these fights don’t seem worth it, so he keeps to himself. Josh tries to say that he stays to himself as well, but Jay says that that’s just because people are mad at him all the time but it’s not in his nature to be a loner. Josh explains how he didn’t fit in because he was a Reaver and how Rahne felt like an outsider too. That’s how they connected. Then it got even deeper when he restored her powers and complicated when he started to have feelings for Laurie too. He confesses to Jay that he was thankful that Rahne ended things because it gave him a chance with Laurie and that things with her were really good. Josh wonders if Jay is even listening as the others arrive to hear his music.
Josh sees Laurie and apologizes for not telling her about him and Rahne. Laurie says she can’t compete with someone like Rahne and Josh explains that he liked her for who she was and that Rahne broke things off because she could see that. He also tells her that he didn’t try to rekindle things with Rahne because he was happy with her. Laurie in turn apologizes for using her pheromones against him. This leads to the two being friends once more…but nothing more for now.
Laurie then apologizes to David for using him the way she did at the dance and admits she was trying to use her powers to be strong because she’s tired of always being the weak one. David tells her that he never thought she was weak to begin with. Sofia uses this wave of apologetic sentiment to prompt David and Josh to air their feelings as well. Josh apologizes for thinking the worst of David and always leaving his messes for David to clean up. David apologizes for not hearing Josh’s side before making a judgment. Josh notes that he didn’t apologize for punching David. David says he owed it to Sofia to try and work things out and commends her for the job she’s done. Jay and Nori are watching and Jay seems surprised that Sofia has managed to fix things. Nori walks away telling Jay that not everything is resolved.
Later that night as the kids are asleep, David wakes Nori up and asks if they can talk. He tells her that he knows she asked to be transferred off the squad and tells her that he did too. He finally starts to open up about his dream and how stupid he’s been acting. He tells her that she’s loud and opinionated and frustrating and he doesn’t know how to deal with her, but he wants to. That’s what his dream showed him. Nori tells him that she thinks he thinks and talks too much. He interrupts and tries to explain that he’s trying to help her understand. She tells him to shut up already and kisses him. As they kiss, the other kids wake up and look and then promptly go back to sleep.
The next morning, the New Mutants return to the school where they are greeted by Dani. She asks how things went and Sofia notes that they went very well. Dani is pleased and says that she should have known since Sofia never gives up. She tells them all how good it is to see them all together again. David says that they’d like to get in a little extra training today and Dani agrees that that’s a great idea. But she tells them they’ll have to do it without her since she’s heading to New York for a few days to visit a friend she’s needed to see.


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[Assistant]
Childhood’s End - part 1
Dallas, Texas – Two Years Earlier:
A destitute looking old man approaches an abandoned church in Dallas, Texas. The sign on the front reads “Ministry of the Reverend William Stryker”. Rev. Stryker enters and begins to speak to the Lord, asking him why he was forced to sacrifice everything he held dear: his wife, his child, and his ministry. He wonders why God has forsaken him and left him with nothing. He takes a gun from his pocket and holds it to his head, begging the Lord to once more give him strength and to light the way back to Him. As he is about to pull the trigger a light floods the room and the enormous crucifix before the Reverend Stryker glows. Stryker falls to his knees and thanks the Lord.
The Xavier Institute – M-Day:
Emma Frost awakens on the lawn of the Xavier Institute following the reality-warping event that created the House of M. As she gets her bearings, she hears a cry for help from inside the Institute and races inside to investigate. Inside, the collective student body reacts to the after-effects of the reality warp and the Scarlet Witch’s decree of “No more mutants.”  Kevin Ford is awakened by a scream and heads out to see what’s wrong. A boy is running down the hallway screaming and nearly knocks Kevin over. Behind him is Dallas Gibson AKA Specter who is crying and states that he cannot call forth his shadow. Kevin then hears another scream and leaves Dallas to find out what’s happening. He turns the corner and sees utter chaos in the common room. The students’ reactions are varied. Some are screaming for help, others are jubilant and thankful.  Preview is declaring that she can’t see (due to the loss of her precognitive powers) while Indra, who is still obviously mutated, cannot recognize one of his classmates who apparently no longer looks the same without his mutant genome.
Emma bursts through the door and tries in vain to calm everyone. She then calls out telepathically to the Stepford Cuckoos to help her. The three telepathic sisters all apparently still have their powers as they are overwhelmed by the panic and emotions of the student body. Emma sees a delirious young man who is punching a wall. His fists are covered in blood but he’s smiling as he realizes that he is normal and can once again feel pain. Emma uses her telepathy to force him to sleep.
Amidst the chaos, Icarus (who still has his wings) tries to get everyone to calm down. He is with Wallflower and Wind Dancer. Kevin approaches them and realizes what has happened: they’ve all lost their powers. He excitedly approaches Laurie and says that it’s wonderful as he reaches out to touch her. As he grabs her arm, it begins to wither away. Icarus pushes Kevin away and asks what he was thinking. Kevin is shocked at what he’s done since he assumed his powers were gone, too. Icarus and Sofia rush Laurie to the infirmary as Kevin looks on in horror.
Emma makes her way to Cerebra while telepathically monitoring the school. She senses that Melody Guthrie still thinks she can fly and is about to leap from the roof of the Institute. Emma telepathically alerts the Beast, who leaps through a window and catches Melody as she begins to fall. Emma realizes she cannot find the student code-named Hydro and alerts the X-Men. Logan pulls the boy out of the pool and replies to Emma that he’s found him but that he’s dead. Emma calls the Stepford Cuckoos, who are still psionically overwhelmed by the mental chaos, to her side.
Josh Foley wakes up and wonders what’s going on. His roommate, David Alleyne seems dumbfounded and states that he doesn’t know…that he doesn’t know anything. Apparently, Prodigy has lost his mutant ability to telepathically absorb the knowledge and skills of others. In a nearby room, Hellion wonders what’s happened to his roommate, Tag who is in shock over losing his mutant powers. Dust and Surge realize that they should go help while Mercury looks at her silvery form in the mirror and wonders aloud “Why not me?” Rockslide on the other hand is still obviously in possession of his mutant powers and rocky form but is sleeping through the commotion. Wither is in complete anguish and declares again and again that this isn’t fair.
Inside Cerebra, Emma and the Cuckoos join together to telepathically will the entire student body to sleep. They are successful and Emma thanks “her girls”, who make it clear to Emma that they are not her girls. They wonder what’s happening.
Xavier Institute - Two days later:
Danielle Moonstar bursts out of the headmasters’ office looking angry beyond words and strides silently past Cyclops, slamming the door once he’s inside. Inside, Emma tells Scott that Dani has no place here, like all the rest who have lost their powers. Scott reminds her that he said they would discuss this first. Emma says it doesn’t matter and that without her powers she’s just a potential victim like all the students who are now human. Cyclops replies that he doesn’t care and that Dani is family. Emma insists that the school is for the “gifted” and that Dani no longer qualifies. Emma tries to explain that she knows how much Dani means to Scott and the students, but that she is merely trying to save her. Scott disagrees and says it isn’t right. Emma tells him not to be selfish and to let her go, for her own safety. Outside, Wolverine listens in on the entire exchange.
In the infirmary, Laurie Collins looks at her withered forearm and hand and says she can’t feel anything. She begs Elixir to help her. He tells her he’s trying but can’t stop crying. He asks if it’s her doing or just him. She replies that she thinks it’s him, perhaps implying that she has also lost her powers. He promises to keep trying until he’s fixed her. Outside the room, Wither watches in anger.
Fisherman’s Wharf – San Francisco:
X-23 is sitting on the pier when her cell phone rings. She answers but says nothing. Logan says that she might as well talk since he can hear her breathing. She says that she misses ‘them’ and Logan tells her that they aren’t there anymore. X-23 replies that ‘she’ was her only friend and Logan says he knows but that she’s gone now and that he needs her to come home now. He calls her Laura. She refuses and Logan reminds her of the deal they made. He says that he didn’t tell anyone that he knew her and even let her slash his face and that she hasn’t kept up her end of the bargain. Laura says she tried and Logan tells her that she didn’t. He tells her no more growling or alien costumes, she has to try for real this time. X-23 is worried that Weapon X will find her there. He tells her that she’s probably right but that the world is a scarier place and she’s needed by the kids at the Institute now and that she needs them. He tells her that if she doesn’t come back, she’s already dead. He asks her to trust him and she hangs up the phone and tosses it into the Bay.
Xavier Institute – Two Weeks after M-Day:
Emma and Scott are arguing. Now that word is out about the decimation of the mutant population, Emma is determined to protect those students who remain no matter the cost. She knows that now that this information is public, their enemies will be coming after them. She tells Scott that if he wants blood on his hands, then so be it. As they argue, a bloodied hand reaches for the front door. He manages to push the door open before collapsing. Emma looks out to see the bloodied and apparently lifeless body of Jay Guthrie on the doorsteps. His wings have clearly been amputated and poorly bandaged as blood is seeping through and he is covered head to toe in blood.


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[Assistant]
Childhood’s End - part 2
Chicago – One Year Earlier:
The Reverend Stryker sits in a stretch limousine waiting as rain pours down onto the streets of Chicago. Dr. Jack Abrams emerges from St. Michael’s Hospital and hails a taxi. Just as Abrams is about to get in, Stryker emerges from his limo and stops him. Stryker asks for a moment of his time and the doctor says he’s in a bit of a rush. Stryker asks him if he knows who he is and Abrams says he recognizes him from TV and asks why he wants to talk to him. Stryker says it’s a matter of life and death and asks for a moment to explain. Abrams tells the taxi driver to go ahead. Dr. Abrams is a bit annoyed and still unsure about what it is Stryker wants with him. Stryker asks if he believes in God. As he asks this, a city bus plows into the taxi that he just sent on his way and it bursts into flames. Abrams looks at Stryker and asks how he knew. Stryker smiles and replies “Because God believes in you.”
Xavier Institute – Now:
Looming above the Xavier Institute are several giant Sentinels, assigned to the school by the Office of National Emergency (O*N*E). Inside, Forge is meeting with Surge and has just presented her with a new set of gauntlets to help her control her electrical powers. She tests them out and tells him they feel really good. Forge notes that they weigh about half what her old gauntlets did and Nori thanks him. He replies that she seemed to have enough weight to carry around and Nori confesses to him that the last several days have been pretty stressed out with the effects of M-Day setting in and so many of her fellow students leaving the school. She admits that things are kind of up in the air and uncertain right now. She looks at Forge and adds that nothing’s ever going to be the same. He agrees with her and says that dark times are ahead and they must do all they can for their people or risk losing everything.
Elsewhere at the Institute, a group of students have gathered to discuss the situation at hand. Mercury asks Tag what he plans to do now that he’s lost his powers. He confesses that he doesn’t really want to go home and wonders if they’ll make him. Rockslide offers to help Brian fake his powers by running away from him all the time and Cessily tells him to shut up. Rockslide says he was just trying to help, as he flips through channels to a wrestling program. Mercury wonders if he goes out of his way to be a jerk but Santo seems genuinely oblivious. Victor snags the remote away with his prehensile tongue and declares that he is not watching wrestling. Pixie chimes in, agreeing that Santo is being a jerk. Josh asks if any of the other healers have had any luck restoring the lost powers of their fellow students. David replies that the Beast says there’s no trace of the X-Gene in any of the depowered mutants, thus there’s nothing to heal.
As Prodigy shares this, a news report about the fallout from M-Day comes on. Nori joins them, wrapping her arms around David and startling him. The others tell them to get a room as they try to listen to the broadcast. The news program includes reports from Neal Conan in Mumbai who reports on the closing of the X-Corporation offices there. He adds that no explanation has been given but there are whispered rumors of a wide-scale crisis in the mutant population that is being referred to as “M-Day”. The kids are surprised that news is spreading so quickly and worried that this phenomenon isn’t just affecting mutants in the US. Reporting in from Mutant Town, Trish Tilby adds that the streets there are empty and that the once visible mutant population is either in hiding or has simply disappeared. She notes that there has been no comment from the superhero community and that four Sentinel units have been stationed at the Xavier Institute. Even the White House has refused to comment, adding fuel to the fire of rumors surrounding this recent development.
The report then cuts to a related story featuring Reverend William Stryker. At a crowded press conference days before M-Day, Stryker states that God will send them a sign that the faithful must heed. He is surrounded by his followers who wear hooded purple robes. Standing next to Stryker is Dr. Jack Abrams. Stryker says that they must look to the results of this “miracle” and find a “path of righteousness”.
Watching from another room, the X-Men Colossus, Beast and Shadowcat are dismayed by Stryker’s statements. In a follow-up interview after M-Day, Stryker answered questions about his whereabouts in recent years. The interviewer notes that he was imprisoned after his encounter with the X-Men and believed dead after disappearing while being transported. Stryker notes that God saved his life. The interviewer then asks about his thoughts on the governor’s controversial decision to commute his prison sentence for murder and conspiracy. Stryker smugly replies that it is all according to “God’s plan”. Next the interviewer brings up the numerous accurate predictions that Stryker has made over the last couple of years and asks how he explains this. Stryker replies that when God spared his life, he gave him the gift of foresight so that His miracles are no longer ignored. The interviewer goes on to ask how he deals with being considered a savior and prophet on the one hand and a racist and bigot by others. Still smiling with a smug confidence, Stryker that the path to Eden is paved with challenges and he’s not there to complain but to lead the way for the Lord’s children. He ends by saying that “God has taken the first step, now we must take the next.”
This commentary elicits a number of responses among the kids. Nori and David interpret this as him instructing the “faithful” to burn mutants at the stake. Icarus however wonders if perhaps this was a miracle. Mercury is taken aback and asks Jay if he really thinks God meant to cripple mutants around the world with the notable exception of them. Josh thinks Stryker is certifiably nuts. Jay is still skeptical and asks everyone there if just once they hadn’t wished they were ‘normal’ and suggests that maybe there’s a reason they weren’t chosen. Nori gets visibly angry and says that if this is such a beautiful miracle then where is Jeffrey Garrett? Or Hydro? Or all the other mutants who are dead or dying as a result of this “act of God”. David steps in and tries to calm these two down. He reminds them that they don’t know why this is happening and says “…we need to stick together, not attack each other.”
At that moment, Hellion enters and asks David exactly what he means by “we” and calls him “human”. With a cocky sneer on his face, Julian reminds David that he just became a part of “them”. Nori quickly defends David asking Julian what his problem is. Julian says that when their backs are up against the wall, David here will be free to walk away. He then asks if David bothered to tell her about his recent call to Harvard. Nori is surprised and before David can explain, Julian says that she’s better off since David no longer belongs there or with her now.
This is when Sofia enters and asks Julian exactly why that is. She asks if it’s because David’s merely human and therefore not worthy of being loved. Julian realizes the implication of her question since she herself is now merely human. Julian stammers to explain himself but Sofia doesn’t give him the chance. She asks if she’s less beautiful to him now than before. He is speechless and she simply tells him to stop since he’s making them both look like fools. He begins to go after her when Nori grabs his arm fiercely and tells him that she isn’t through with him yet. Julian powers up and glares down at Nori telling her she just picked the worst time to mess with him.
Their confrontation is interrupted by Logan, who has arrived with X-23 in tow. He introduces her as his sister, Laura, and starts to explain that she’s his clone but stops and says it doesn’t really matter. He tells the kids that she has his claws and could kill anyone one of them if she wanted. He advises them to avoid making her want to kill them. His abrupt introductions done, he turns and leaves stopping only for a moment to add that his money’s on Nori.
David tells Nori to let it go and suggests a better way for them to blow off some steam. Nori doesn’t back dwon from Julian altogether telling him that she’ll see him later. He gives back just as much attitude saying he’ll look forward to it. Julian is surprised to see that Cessily is going with the New Mutants. He looks hurt and asks where she’s going. She tells him bluntly that she loves him but it’s time for him to start growing up. X-23 looks at Julian who takes his frustration out on her by asking harshly what she’s looking at and calling her “Clone”.
Meanwhile in the headmistress’s office, tensions are mounting between Emma Frost and Cyclops over X-23. Emma has telepathically scanned X-23’s mind after penetrating her shields and confirmed that all the girl has known in her life is death and murder. She mentions that X-23 murdered hundreds without remorse, including her own mother and refuse to allow her in the school. Cyclops counters her argument by saying that Logan vouches for her. Emma says that’s hardly a strong point of contention given Logan’s recent actions. She says that she doesn’t think he should be around the kids either! Cyclops argues that Logan is an X-Man and has saved both their lives. Logan vouches for X-23 in much the same way that Xavier vouched for Emma when she began working with the X-Men. Emma won’t let it go and argues that there are enough dangers facing the kids in these uncertain times without integrating someone this dangerous into the school itself. Scott tells Emma that he stood by while she dismissed Dani Moonstar and that he’s willing to let her try out her new training system but X-23 stays and it’s no longer up for discussion. He leaves the room and Emma is clearly not happy with her co-headmaster and lover.
David leads the New Mutants down into the tunnels beneath the Institute. As they’re walking along, Jay asks if he’s really planning to leave. He tells them it’s not by choice but it’s only a matter of time before Emma makes all the depowered students leave. He explains that he called Harvard to withdraw his application and that he plans to attend college nearby to stay close to the school and Nori. They stop just shy of the Morlock Tunnel entrance and emerge in a wide cavern filled with electronic devices. Jay asks if David’s been living there. David explains that he used the knowledge he borrowed from Beast and Shadowcat to build the Danger Cave for them. Nori thinks David is just weird to do this but he explains that this is an advanced training simulator that uses 3-d light images and can recreate the X-Men’s old field missions.
 At that moment, the Hellions arrive and Julian snidely compliments David on his creation. David notes that he thought Julian was a leader not a follower. Hellions mentions how Cyclops will react when he learns what David has built down here. Cessily tells them both to knock it off already. David tells everyone to get in the center of the room and throws the power switch. This causes a power drain upstairs and knocks out the lights.
Rockslide densely asks if it’s a time machine and wonders if it has Dance Dance Revolution. David calls up an X-Men field mission with enough roles for the assembled mutants to play and settles on Fall of the Mutants. The kids find themselves cast as the X-Men and wearing their costumes. Nori is Psylocke, Dust is Dazzler, Elixir is Longshot, Mercury is Rogue, Hellion is Havok, Rockslide is Colossus, Tag is Wolverine and David programs in Archangel for Icarus, since he wasn’t an X-Man during this particular scenario.
 Sooraya complains that she cannot see. He face is covered by Destiny’s mask with a dagger holding it in place just as Dazzler’s was during this particularly battle. David apologizes and calls up a different mission: The X-Men’s first encounter with the Brood! In this case, Jay is cast as Angel, Elixir is Nightcrawler, Nori is Lilandra, Mercury is Kitty Pryde, Hellion is Cyclops, Rockslide is once again Colossus and Tag is dressed as Storm!?!
 Rockslide complains about being cast as Colossus again and Mercury refuses to play Kitty if it means being paired with Santo. Tag is none too thrilled to find himself clad in Ororo’s original costume either and demands a change of scenario. David’s files and system are clearly not fine-tuned but are still impressive. David threatens to turn the whole thing off if they don’t stop yelling at him. From the shadows, X-23 watches the group in silence looking a bit eager to join in.
Xavier Institute Infirmary – Ten Days From Now:
Elixir enters the infirmary to check on Laurie and is surprised to find Beast and Emma tending to Jay. He asks what happened and then notices that his wings are gone! Emma replies that his wings have been amputated and that they don’t know who did this. She adds that Jay’s healing factor is not compensating and that he is dying. As she says this, Jay comes to and she asks him who did this to him. Josh assures Jay that he’s going to help him through this. Jay sits bolt upright and cries “NO!” several times. He screams “Get away” and his convulsions start to pull out his stitches. The Beast orders Emma to help hold him down. Jay’s eyes fill with terror and tears as he cries out “Don’t touch me! Just get away!” Is Jay reliving the final moments before his wings were clipped or is he begging them not to help him survive this?


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[Assistant]
Childhood’s End - part 3
Los Angeles – Six Months Ago:
The rain falls on assassin-for-hire Matthew Risman as he takes aim at his target. Perched on a rooftop, he looks through the targeting scope at Bob Forward, who is having a drink in a building across the street. As he starts to take his shot, his cell phone rings and throws his aim off. He curses and answers angrily.
 The voice on the other end tells him that his wife and daughter are in grave danger and must be out of their home by a specified time or they will both die. Risman demands to know who the caller is but they hang up after telling him that his mark is still alive. Risman quickly picks up his rifle, aims at Forward who is already bleeding from the neck and swiftly ends his life. He then makes a run for it.
As Risman drives home in the rain, he tries in vain to call his wife, Piper, who is sound asleep at home. He arrives with moments to spare and rushes in to tell his wife that they have to get out of the house now.
 Grabbing his young daughter, he drags his bewildered wife out onto the lawn. The house explodes behind them.
 As he watches his home crumble, the Reverend William Stryker approaches and congratulates him. He says that the Lord sends his love and asks to speak privately to Matthew. Styker explains that this was a divine intervention and that God is not yet ready for him and his family to join him. Risman is bewildered and asks Stryker what God would want with a paid killer like him. Stryker smiles and tells Risman that not everyone in God’s army is an angel.
The Xavier Institute – Now:
Months later, the remaining members of the Hellions and New Mutants student squads are testing out the new “Danger Cave” built by their classmate, Prodigy. The scenario is taken from another X-Men mission during which the X-Men and the Hellfire Club teamed up briefly to survive an assault by the time-traveling robot known as Nimrod. In this scenario, Hellion is costumed as Sebastian Shaw, Rockslide as Harry Leland, Mercury as Selene, Surge as Storm, X-23 as Rachel Summers, Icarus as Nightcrawler, and Elixir as the Morlock, Caliban.
Hellion and Rockslide finds Nimrod’s hot pink armored form less than a credible threat. Santo adds that he wants to be an Avenger and fight some Avengers’ foes. Prodigy informs him that this robot is an advanced Sentinel who managed to kill the guy Santo is “playing”. Mercury wonders how anyone could fight in the get-up she’s wearing as the “Black Queen”.
Prodigy tries to convince them that Nimrod is tough by telling them that the X-Men never managed to beat it. Hellion demands he change the channel and Noriko suggests that maybe he’d like to fight her instead. Hellion telekinetically shoves Surge. Tag is overwhelmed and realizing he shouldn’t even be there.
 Icarus tries to get Nori to back down but gives up quickly and walks away. The others try to call Jay back to the scenario but he suggests that they replace him with X-23 since they all seem to want more violence. Dust tries to go after Jay but David stops her.
 Mercury awkwardly invites X-23 to join in. Hellion says that she can play but she doesn’t get to be Wolverine every time. X-23 the approaches and reaches towards Keller’s groin. With a smile he says “Down, girl” but his smile quickly fades as X-23 pops her claws. Julian is unhurt but gets the message. He asks angrily if they cloned her a sense of humor.
The scenario shifts to Inferno with the X-Men and original X-Factor team joining forces against the Goblyn Queen. In this scenario, Hellion is dressed as Cyclops, Mercury as Jean Grey, X-23 as Rogue, Rockslide as Colossus, Surge as Storm and Elixir as Iceman. Given her burka, Dust does not seem to be changing costumes from scenario to scenario.
 As the scene materializes, a demon jumps out at Hellion. Mercury cries out a warning but before Julian can respond, X-23 has leapt in and dispatched the demon. Hellion tells her to back off and let him fight his own battles. As he does so, another demon gets the jump on him and again X-23 leaps in and rescues him, much to his chagrin.
 Surge teasingly suggests that X-23 has a crush on him! Hellion challenges Noriko and points out that it’s now four against two, with only Surge and Elixir remaining from the New Mutants squad. Elixir tells Julian to shut up and Hellion responds with “Make me.”
 As Josh approaches, Santo grabs him and brushes off Josh’s threats since Josh is only a healer. Surge tells Santo to put him down. David steps in a shuts off the program. Mercury tries to play mediator, asking them all to not do this now. As tempers flare, Josh returns to tell the others that Dani is leaving.
The New Mutants turn and leave. The Hellions are left there and Rockslide notes that X-23, who he calls the weird girl, is looking at them. Hellion tries to shoo her away like he would a stray dog. Mercury chides him for this and tells him not to be mean. Santo suggests that Brian Tag her so she’ll leave them alone. Mercury’s the only one who noticed that Brian left, probably because the others have been ignoring him now that he’s lost his powers. Hellion seems largely unconcerned and tells Cessily that Ms. Frost is probably going to force Brian to leave anyway now that he’s human.
Mercury wonders about Kevin who has been absent recently since his incident with Wallflower. Santo notes that her arm was really mangled and Mercury defends Wither saying it was an accident. Hellion tells her to relax; they all know she cares for Kevin despite how dangerous he is. Julian says that he needs time to figure out how to deal with Kevin after he almost killed Laurie. Wither is nearby listening and runs away after hearing this. He does not stay long enough to hear Julian’s explanation that they’re still a team and that he won’t let anything happen to Kevin.
Outside, the New Mutants find out that Ms. Frost fired Dani and that she’s being forced to leave. Dani tells them this wasn’t her choice and that she hates it but that she’ll be more use outside the Institute. Josh brings up that Dani is his guardian and wonders what will happen to the squad. She assures them all that Karma and Magma will be there for them. She starts to cry and tells them she just can’t be there right now but that they’ll be okay. She hugs Sofia and tells them that she’s sorry it has to be this way.
  Emma joins them and Dani tells them that Agent Pierce is here to pick her up. She encourages them to stick together and trust themselves and each other, since that’s all they have sometimes.
 X-23 arrives and watches from a short distance. The kids say their final goodbye and Emma leads them into the mansion. X-23 begins to follow and Emma abruptly stops her and asks harshly where she thinks she’s going. Scott arrives and immediately stops Emma, reminding her of their agreement about Laura. He tersely sends her inside and talks with X-23, telling her that they’ll find her a place to sleep.
He takes her to Sooraya’s room, where they interrupt her daily prayers to Allah. He tells Dust that since Noriko has opted to room alone he thought she might make a good roommate for X-23 and could show her around. Sooraya is very compliant and says it would be an honor.  X-23 notes that Sooraya is Sunni and Dust is surprised that she can speak. She apologizes for this and asks if X-23 knows her homeland. X-23 replies that she has killed in Afghanistan, leaving Dust speechless.
Elsewhere, Josh has fallen asleep in Laurie’s arms. She asks if he’s awake and realizes he’s out. She quietly tells him that she loves him.
 Nearby, Nori and David are making out. Her gauntlets lie next to his shades on the nightstand. She tells him passionately, “Less talking.”
 Down the hall, Julian tires to talk with Sofia. He practically begs her to come out and stop avoiding him. She asks him to go away. He tells her that he knows she’s hurting and wants to help but she won’t let him in.
 Mercury comes by and asks if he’s seen Kevin. Julian blows her off saying that he’s a little busy. Cessily tells him that Kevin’s missing and asks him if he’ll help her look for him. Julian tells her that Kevin’s a big boy and will get over this on his own. Cessily walks away angrily and tells Julian “Way to look out for your friends.” He chases after her.
 Inside, Sofia is packing to leave. Kevin himself emerges from a manhole outside the mansion having used the tunnels to evade the Sentinels and leave the Institute.
In Dallas, Texas, Forge listens to a news report about the placement of Sentinels at the Xavier Institute and the question of whether they are there to protect the mutants or those outside the Institute where the remaining mutants are currently being voluntarily interred. Forge is working on a robotic form that looks strikingly similar to Nimrod.
Back at the Institute, X-23 wakes up to the sound of a voice calling “Laura” and asking why. She rises and goes to the hallways where she is shocked to see the bloodied body of her “mother”, Dr. Sarah Kinney. The zombie-like form moves towards her and asks why she killed her. She says she loved her and again asks why, calling her X-23.
 Through her tears, X-23 looks up at the vision. She defiantly states that her mother gave her a name and would not call her X-23.
 Emma appears and X-23 demands to know why she’s doing this. Emma responds that it’s because she is a weapon and a cold-blooded killer who knows nothing else. She believes that X-23 is a threat to the lives of her students and makes it clear that one way or another, she’ll be leaving. X-23 is distraught and falls to her knees crying.
New York – Seven Days from Now:
Stryker’s followers, including Matthew Risman, arm themselves with rocket-launchers, guns and automatic weapons. Stryker enters and asks if they are ready. They address him as “father” and reply that they are ready.