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Oh, Now I Get It... (1st story)
Ye Double Feature (2nd story)
First story :Husk wakes up screaming in a cold sweat in disbelief of the events that have just recently unfolded. She is thoroughly convinced that it was all a terrible nightmare. She hears a presence at the door and turns startlingly to see Chamber, with his bottom jaw and chest cavity fully intact. Husk hugs him, telling him frantically about her nightmare. He offers to sing her a song much to her confusion since he doesn't have a guitar with him. Amazingly, one materializes out of nowhere and Jono begins to sing Paige his song.
The music floats outside to the ears of a little girl sitting on top of Synch's shoulders, much to her disliking. Another little child runs up to Everett and asks him if he knows that his day camp is on a rusted-out ship in the middle of the ocean, to which he replies no. Jubilee beckons Everett to show him the sign that she has made for Camp Jubilee. They draw closer, discussing how they have turned their lives around since their near death experience. Everett puts his arm around Jubilee and they kiss deeply, receiving a chorus of various disgusted replies from the children.
On the deck above, Monet sits with her brother, Marius, by her side, watching the spectacle. She asks him if he prefers this current scenario to the pain and suffering of his life as Emplate. He concedes to her point, but asks her why she chose her current "incarnation" if she could have anything that she wants. She replies that she enjoys it, considering the alternative. A football slams into Marius' head, revealing his true temper, as he mutters about having the ship deck stacked with dead mutants if it was his fantasy. Two of the children from Camp Jubilee ask Marius for their ball back, to which he obliges. He turns to his sister and asks her if they ever were that cute. Some of us still are, she replies.
Behind them tied to a pole, Skin hangs naked with his head down. He raises his glaring eyes to look at his tormentor.
In the secluded complex of Operation: Zero Tolerance, Jubilee sits restrained in the floor, gazing off into space. The door opens and a silhouetted figure enters, carrying a tray. Jubilee looks up to see that it is Daria, with a plate of food. She holds out a spoon of peas, telling her that it has been two days and she needs to eat. As a measure of good faith, she eats the peas herself, telling Jubilee that it is safe. Jubilee coldly asks Daria how she could be so crazy as to be in the Zero Tolerance program and how she could be so mean? Daria stammers and then leaves the room, once more pleading with Jubilee to eat.
Back on the ship, our mysterious benefactor tends to the last member of the team, Skin. He is bound to a pole in the center of the ship, his skin dripping off of his body. He asks Skin if there is a problem to which he sarcastically replies. Our mystery man reveals himself to be Glorian, Shaper of Dreams. He tells Skin about his past and how he only fulfills the dreams of those he deems worthy, so Skin must choose something that he desires.
Skin tells Glorian that these so-called dreams are not what the team really desires: Synch wants to make a difference, not baby-sit, Chamber wants to be loved for who he is, not what he used to be, Husk does not want to be taken care of and Monet just wants to belong. Skin accuses Glorian that he did not dig deep enough to find out what they were truly like, possibly because he was afraid that he could not fulfill their real dreams. Glorian defends himself by explaining what he has done: Monet was given a true sense of oneness and received the fantasy version of her brother, Chamber is whole, Synch is the group care-giver and is cared about by Jubilee, and Husk can finally stop trying so hard at everything. He also believes that Skin might know his teammates better than he does. Glorian offers Skin one last chance to get what he desires, but Skin tells him that he does not want anything.
Skin then continues, by telling Glorian that even though he has many problems that could be fixed: his appearance, being able to see his family again, making the world a safe place for mutants, but he does not need to live in a fantasy world to make his life feel worthwhile. Glorian's temper flares out of control at his disbelief, undoing everything that he had painstakingly done for the team. Glorian then turns on Skin, demanding that he request something of him, to which Skin replies.
Skin wakes up in front of the Academy with his fully restored friends by his side. Skin had received what he had truly desired, a sense of self, his friends, and a home.
Second Story :(flashback)Banshee stands at the base of Krakoa, the living island, looking up at the ensnared bodies of the original X-Men.
(present)Emma sifts through his memories, marveling at how emotionally sensitive he was for a non-empath. Sean says that the only thing that he finds exciting about the mind scan is that he will find out where the Gen X kids are. Sean believes that Black Tom sent the children to Krakoa.
In White Queen's private jet, Banshee explains to Emma about Krakoa and shares his worries with her about the team. Emma worries that the team was separated and that they are "flying blind" with the belief that they are together. Emma spills her guilty conscience to Sean, wishing that they had the power to protect their children. Banshee looks at the sleeping Penance and asks Emma if they are doing the right thing by the children, if they have corrupted their lives in some way or if there is a better life for them somewhere else. Emma firmly disagrees and turns away from Sean to hide her tears. Sean asks her why she is crying and she says that she has been in this same situation before with the Hellions. Emma finds it amusing that two adult, who were charged with caring for so many children, can hardly take care of themselves. Sean and Emma share a hug, followed by an awkward moment.
Emma's pilot interrupts them to show them something below them in the water. A large ship has been raised from the water and there are no life forms aboard. Suddenly, a broken distress call blares over the radio. Banshee recognizes it as the voice of Cyclops. Emma and Sean decide that since they can get a trace on the signal and they have no leads on where the kids are, that they will go and help the X-Men.
In the New Mexico desert, Daria goes in once more to check on Jubilee. It has been almost two weeks since she has been captured and she has not been eating. Jubilee is lying on the floor next to her tray of food and Daria kneels down next to her. Daria apologizes to her for everything that has been done to her and everything that will be done to her friends from the information that was extracted from her memories. Jubilee suddenly springs to life and blasts Daria with a full dose of pyrotechnics. Daria cowers in the corner and Jubilee shows concern for her, even though she is extremely angry. Jubilee thinks that she only used enough power to stun Daria and is worried that she did some damage. Daria replies “more than you could never know,” as technological organisms that were buried deep within her body spring forth to attack the person who harmed them. The nanotech defense system swarms over to Jubilee, engulfing and subduing her.


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[Assistant]
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship!
Skin sits with a knife held to his throat. He looks up into the eyes of its wielder, a woman named Tores, but is unable to move; her other hand rests on his chin and restricts him from acting.
Growing up on the streets of East Los Angeles, Angelo Espinosa had accepted that death might come early to him early in his life. As a student in Generation X—the team of mutants in training—he had also frequently faced the threat of early death, but had avoided that fate enough times that he had begun to hope that he might be of that rarest of breeds: a survivor. But now, he faces death again.
Back on the streets of L.A., where any survivor’s luck he may have had runs away scared and screaming. Death this day is beautiful and smells of Chanel Allure—not that it makes the dying any easier.
Suddenly, the scene pauses, as if it had been recorded on a VCR. The silhouetted man watching the screen emits a gurgling noise, then turns to face the viewer. He wears sunglasses and a scarf over his mouth, which garbles his speech. He then pulls the scarf down so he can speak, revealing an iconic, mustachioed smile. “Sorry gang,” he says. “It’s not easy to talk wearing Chamber’s scarf like he does!”
The man stands up, removes his wig, and addresses the audience directly. “You’ve probably guessed that I’m Stan ‘The Man’ Lee by now. The sparkling wit sorta gives it away! I told Jim Robinson and Chris Bachalo we wouldn’t fool anybody!” he says, remarking on what his sly method of sneaking the credits into the book. “Hey, wanna see our scintillatin’ story? I can picture you saying: ‘why d’ya think I’m here, dummy?!’ It’s called, ‘The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship!’” Stan says, before remarking that those Comicraft guys are always showing off.
Picking up the remote, Stan remarks that the story he was watching on the TV can wait until next issue. He flips the channel toward the story he wants to share now, along the way passing an episode of ‘Baywatch’ featuring a large-busted woman running along the beach. He remarks that he was saving the episode for later. He then finds the channel he wants, which bears the image of Emma Frost, the co-leader of Generation X. Stan bets she would be the coolest babe on ‘Baywatch’ if she wanted to be. Her co-leader, Sean Cassidy, probably wouldn’t want to lose her though. Changing the channel, he lands on an image of Banshee, shown smoking a pipe. Better smile when saying his codename, Stan says.
Together, Stan says, Emma and Sean lead the colorful cohorts of Generation X, who consist of Everett Thomas, codenamed Synch. He’s their very own ‘Mr. Cool.’ He also introduces Jubilation Lee, whom he insists is NOT his daughter, despite rumors to the contrary! Of course, they must not forget poor Monet St. Croix, who got shortchanged by simply being known as M.
“Speaking of names,” he asks, “why would a gal like Paige Guthrie let herself be called Husk? And why did I give myself the boring job of naming people whom you probably know as well as I do!? But lovesick Paige would never forgive me if I didn’t also introduce J.E. Starsmore, or Chamber to you.” Next, he presents Skin, wondering at the same time whether that’s also the mutant’s mysterious last name. Penance ought to be around there somewhere too, Stan adds, but when she starts to come into the image, he remarks that this flashback saga doesn’t include any of them! He just didn’t want them to feel left out.
The fantastic fable he has in store for the reader today, he says, involves Sean and Emma in an adventure they shared many years ago—only they don’t know that they shared it! “And if that doesn’t getcha goin’, I’ll never throw an excelsior at you again!”
flashback:New York City…
If you’re going to make an entrance into society, Manhattan is the place to do it. This is where the oldest money is. The surest finance. Watch now as one such entrance upon Manhattan society is about to be made. Her name is Emma Frost. Sweet sixteen and never been kissed…with a forged invitation and a stolen Bob Mackie dress.
As Emma enters the ballroom, the butler welcomes her to Samuel Cumberland’s annual gala. He’s sure Mr. Cumberland will be delighted to see her again. She did say she knew him, right? Emma replies that he knows her parents.
This is the third such event that Emma has attended, but the first of which she didn’t have to use her burgeoning telepathic ability completely to gain entry. For Samuel Cumberland did indeed know Emma’s parents once; it was a year before they disinherited her. Since then, it’s been the streets—hunger and alleyways and cold, cold nights. But that won’t last for much longer—not with Emma’s powers, which get stronger and stronger each day.
As Emma descends the staircase onto the main floor, she remarks that she just needs to make one pass to gather what she needs. The thoughts of the strangers comprising this elite crowd begin trickling into her brain, most of them useful stock tips.
May have to call the broker tomorrow. Tim said I should buy steel.
What a delightful creature.
By stock in Wakandan Airways—about to sign a trade agreement with America.Hellfire Cl—
Mr. Cumberland stops Emma before she hears the rest of that thought. He asks her if they have met. Emma remarks that it was a long time ago. To her displeasure, she then hears Mr. Cumberland thinking that Emma looks about the same age as his daughter, but that he still wouldn’t mind…
Thankfully, the stray thought of a nearby stranger interrupts this unpleasant, prurient rumination. Stark Industries. Buy, buy, buy… stock’s about to explode. The mind-picking continues.
I should have killed that man in the obvious way. But no, I had to show off. Used my powers—
How can I tell my brother that—
Don’t sell shares in Cummings Aeronautics. Never mind the dip in price. Secret contract with Uncle Sam’s about to happen. Something about a ‘heli-carrier’?
Again, a stranger interrupts her, only this time it is Ben Nishimura who asks for her name. After Emma tells him who she is, she remarks that she is delighted to meet him. As she makes her way toward the exit of the ballroom, she overhears someone else saying they want to sell their shares in gamma research because some experts consider it too volatile to be used productively. Another voice in her head expresses a desire to invest in Reed Richards’ patent for unstable molecules.
When Emma finally reaches the other end of the ballroom floor, she starts feeling nauseous. Fortunately, she thinks she learned enough, and read enough minds. Now, she just has to capitalize on what she learned—if she doesn’t fall ill first. She decides to head to the rest room.
She approaches the door to the ladies room, closer to the verge of fainting with each step. She overextended herself, she thinks; she’s not yet as powerful as she thought. She just hopes she can get to the ladies room without—
Suddenly, the large hand of a powerful man appears in front of her, and pushes the door open for her to enter. He asks her to allow him to open the door for her. Emma looks up at the massive man, thanks him, and asks if she knows him. As she says this, she realizes that she does remember him: he’s the man from the ballroom floor who was thinking about a murder he had committed! The large man tells her he doesn’t believe they’ve met, although he would like to remedy that sad fact. He introduces himself as Harry Leland.
As Emma looks into his smiling face, she reminds herself that he was thinking about murder—and how he had powers. Perhaps there are others like her, she thinks—others born with abilities beyond those of ordinary people. She also remembers that he was thinking about something else, too—something she didn’t understand. A word. Hellfire.
In turn, Emma introduces herself to Mr. Leland, remarking to herself that he might be a dangerous man, but she also wagers he could be a useful one—for her. She doesn’t want to be rude, she tells Mr. Leland. She would love to talk, but she’s afraid she’s not feeling well.
How terrible, Leland remarks. He proposes that he could take her home; they could talk in his car. Emma replies that such a thing would be wonderful. She just asks him to giber her a moment. As she enters the ladies room, she tells Harry that he really is a lifesaver. He’s glad she thinks so, he says. To himself, however, he remarks that few people do. He smiles at Emma one last time and tells her he will be waiting for her out in the hallway.
Inside the bathroom, the minutes pass like sinking anchors. Emma, lying curled on the floor, isn’t sure how long she’s lain there. She may have passed out momentarily, but she isn’t sure of that, either. This is crazy, she tells herself. Too much mind-reading for one night… my head feels as if it’s about to explode. I’ll tell Leland I’m tired…maybe arrange to meet him another time. But not tonight. The man’s dangerous, and I’m not quite myself. It’s better to cut and run. Be satisfied with all I’ve picked up this evening.
She remarks to herself that with the knowledge she’s gleaned from the party, combined with what she’s heard at the other events she’s crashed, she can now make her fortune. If she takes the little money she’s stolen and saved, and invest it based on this knowledge, she should be able to make a profit by nightfall. Finally, she will begin to crawl out of the gutter she’s been living in.
To Emma’s surprise, another woman asks her if she’s okay. The started Emma picks herself up off the floor and remarks that she’s fine. The woman, commenting that she say Emma at the party, tells her she looks rough. Emma thanks her and clenches her hand over her face; she claims she’s having a migraine. The woman offers her a few Aspirin, but Emma declines. She’s just going to head home, she says, thinking to herself that she will do so only after dealing with Leland.
To her surprise, however, Leland is nowhere to be found when she returns to the hallway. It looks like patience isn’t one of his traits; he’s flown the coop. She takes that as a sign to do the same; she’ll be out of there before they even notice the ink on her invitation is still wet.
Emma heads to the busy New York City street outside the ballroom, where she contemplates whether to get a hotel room uptown or downtown. She finds reassurance in the fact that if the market pays off the next day, she can maybe rent someplace honestly. Intent on thinking positively, she tells herself the market is going to do well—very well. She’s going to make enough to buy somewhere, she thinks. This is the start of something—something big.
She walks by a group of men in tuxedos smoking on the corner, presumably outside the party she just left. One of them catcalls her, telling his buddies to check out the fox. It’s a shame the party girl is leaving the party without a daddy, he says, heckling her. Another of the men swings around a light pole and stands in her way. He’s a Scorpio, he says, and he bets she’s a Leo. Is he right? He’ll be her daddy, he says. Emma asks the guys if they shouldn’t be inside with their nice, shiny tuxedos. The Scorpio replies that they’re bodyguards. And here Emma thought they were ambassadors, she replies. The Scorpio replies that their bosses don’t need them inside.
Sweating profusely, Emma tells the Scorpio that she doesn’t need him out there either. Not taking the hint, the Scorpio leans in, sniffs her hair, and tells Emma she smells good. She replies that he certainly doesn’t. Asking her what’s the matter, he insinuates that because she was just inside with all the big shots, that she thinks these guys aren’t good enough. Emma meekly replies that she never said that. To herself, she realizes that she may have just started something bad…
Nearby, two detectives sit inside a nondescript car as part of a stakeout. It’s been a long night for NYPD Detective Sean Cassidy and his partner, Lowell Fontaine. Surveillance is never fun, but this particular assignment has been interminable. The night is about to get longer, too—and a lot more eventful.
Sean, peeking out the window, asks Lowell if he also sees what’s happening on the street corner. “No way, Irish!” Lowell says. “We’re supposed to be watching Leland’s comings and goings. You know that. You wanna blow our cover?”
Sean reminds him of what’s happening to the girl, but Lowell will have none of it. She’ll be fine, he says, ordering Sean to stay put.
Meanwhile, the Scorpio tells Emma to prove that she thinks the thugs harassing her are good enough by giving him a kiss. After asking if he’s joking, Emma asks if he will please just let her by. The rest of the men surround her. She isn’t going anywhere, they say. They tell her to give their friend a kiss—for starters. They’re not going to give her a choice, are they, she asks? No, the Scorpio tells her. In that case, Emma smiles, and tells the Scorpio to pucker up. He then closes his eyes, protrudes his lips, and tells her to make it a wet one. Whatever he says, she replies, as she stretches back her hand. With her manicured nails protruding as far as possible, she brings her hand hard across his face, drawing blood with her feral scratch.
As Emma takes off running, the wounded brute, with his hand over his bloody wounds, screams that she blamed near ripped his face off! He tells his friends to get her. Detective Cassidy, meanwhile, decides he needs to help Emma after he sees this scene transpire. Lowell’s implores him to stay put while he calls for backup, but Detective Cassidy doubts they will arrive in time. The girl might be dead by then, he says. Lowell reminds him of their assignment. This isn’t Interpol, he says, referencing Cassidy’s previous line of work; in New York, cops follow orders, or people get hurt. Cassidy, reminding his colleague that someone is about to get hurt, counters that no assignment is more important than an innocent life. With that, he leaps out of the car and chases after Emma, ignoring Lowell’s objections as he goes.
Emma, meanwhile, heads down dark alleyway that she hasn’t traveled in a while. Still, she recalls that she should be able to give them the slip on the other end. To her horror, however, she finds the exit at the other end closed. She grips the chain-link fence in desperation. Behind her, she hears a familiar voice, asking her about that kiss. Emma turns to face the man following her, and is knocked unconscious by a swift punch to the face. She falls into a pile of garbage.
“Be more’n a kiss you’ll be giving us now,” the Scorpio says as he beholds her unconscious body. While two of his pals join him in staring at her, his third pal has the sense to turn around to investigate the noise and shadow bearing down on them. Just when he makes out the image of what’s approaching, however, it’s already too late. He tries to warn his friends, but is dispatched by a furry claw speeding toward his face.
A mere fourteen seconds later, Detectives Cassidy and Fontaine arrive in the darkened alleyway, only to find it devoid of people. Fontaine asks Sean what he thinks happened. Sean comments that it must have been something bad—very bad. He points out the blood on the ground, noting that it ends at a manhole cover. When Lowell suggests they call for backup, Sean tells his partner he can do that, but he is going to proceed with finding the girl. He leaves Lowell on the surface while he removes the manhole cover and descends into the sewer.
Elsewhere, Emma Frost slowly regains consciousness. She emits a groan as her vision returns. Her ward remarks that he is so glad she’s awake. Understandably confused, Emma looks around and asks where she is. In response, her ward welcomes her to his place. Emma looks around and sees a subterranean laboratory, filled with all sorts of twisted utensils, specimens, and equipment. Strangest of all is the creature who brought her there: a tall, burly, blue-furred man with long blue hair. This Beast of a man holds in his hand a surgical utensil, which he uses to operate on the cadaver lying on his surgical table—the Scorpio thug from outside the party.
The frightened Emma coyly asks the brutish man what he is, and what he wants. Food? Does he just want food? The Beast tells her no, not her—never her. He would never hurt her. In that case, Emma asks him why? What is this place? The Beast tells her that he’s seen her; she lives on the street. “You dodge hard times like I do,” he says, gazing at her with one of his yellow eyes. “I look up at the world above and I see you once. Then I see you again. And again. I figure I like what I see. I start looking for you. Watching you.”
“And watching out for me too, it seems,” Emma responds. The Beast tells her that if they want a piece of her, they have to go through him first. Looking around the laboratory, Emma asks the Beast what all the stuff is. He simply tells her that it’s science, while continuing to cut through the corpse on his operating table.
When she asks what kind of science, he replies that he thinks he came from someplace else. “There was me and lots of others like me. We were bright colors and powers. We were in control. And I was smart. Smart enough to know what science,” the Beast says. When Emma asks what things are like for him know, he replies that he remembers formulas and equations, but doesn’t remember what they’re for. He knows when he was smart, he experimented on people—to have more knowledge, and to learn. When she asks if that’s what he’s been trying to do in the sewers, he responds in the affirmative.
Aiding him in her line of questioning, Emma theorizes that he has pieces of the jigsaw, but not the big picture on the box. The Beast guesses so—but asks what a jigsaw is. Emma asks what he wants to do with her. He’s seen her and he likes her and he wants her to be his friend, he replies. Together, they can help each other dodge hard times. Emma, examining a jar from his shelf, supposes she could maybe help her remember. She asks what he could do for her? Without even looking at her, the dark Beast tells her he could protect her. Emma begins to smile; when he remembers everything he knew, she says, that knowledge could very well serve them both.
She finally asks the Beast his name. He’s not sure, but he thinks his name is Perry, or Honk, or maybe Hank, Herry, or Henry. He doesn’t know. She’ll help him recall that too, Emma says. The Beast takes that to mean they have an agreement. He asks how they signify that. What do they do? Emma tells him that, traditionally, they would shake on it. He asks what, exactly, they shake. Does she mean like when his fur gets wet? No, Emma says—she means they join hands and shake them. The Beast tells her he can do that.
“D’na touch her, ye monster!” a voice cries out just as the dark Beast is about to take Emma’s hand. Startled, Emma and the dark Beast turn around, just as Detective Cassidy emits a sonic scream that propels the furry mutant into the wall. The scream is agony to the black Beast’s ears—like hot pins. The dark Beast smashes into a shelf stacked with jars and falls to the ground. Picking himself up, he tells the interloper that he doesn’t know who he is, but knows he doesn’t like him. Emma, cowering behind a chair, thinks to herself that she doesn’t know who the interloper is either, but she’s not sure she agrees with the last part of the Beast’s declaration.
Detective Cassidy then flies through the air at the Beast. He tells him he doesn’t care if he’s his favorite flavor, either; it looks to him like the Beast has eaten his fill anyway! Smashing into the Beast like a torpedo, he tells him to keep away from the girl. The shelf collapses onto the Beast.
Emma uncovers her eyes and observes the fight. It doesn’t matter who this guy is, or that he’s made a mistake, she thinks; what matters is that he’s trying to help her. Detective Cassidy stands up and looks at Emma. He tells her there’s no need to be afraid; the Beastie is down.
It turns out that Cassidy speaks a moment too soon: just as he turns his back on the Beast, it reaches up from the rubble and socks him across the face. Emma screams. The Beast, meanwhile, tells the fallen fighter that it no longer matters what his name is; soon he’ll have him labeled in jars. He’ll name every bit of him—find out why he seems so familiar to him.
Emma, still cowering in the corner, realizes that she can’t let this man get killed. He only intervened because he thought she was in trouble; he was trying to save her. She must try something, she thinks. What she’s about to try has never worked for more than a moment before, but this time, it has to. No, Hank. Not now, she thinks, telepathically projecting her thought into the Beast’s mind. It appears to work; he jerks for a moment, then steadies his claws. No death. Calm down. That’s a boy, she continues saying into his mind. Emma is amazed that her ability is working. She finally tells Hank to relax. He calmly turns to her, and gently says hi.
Hank asks her what they do now. Emma, steadying her aching head, tells him to hold on for a moment; she’s feeling dizzy. She’ll decide what to do in a moment. From behind, however, another voice interrupts her conversation with Hank, telling her she hasn’t got a moment. The voice then tells her to put her hands in the air.
Emma turns around and sees Harry Leland standing in the doorway, wineglass still in his hand, along with Detective Fontaine, gun in hand. She asks Fontaine who he is. He tells her that it’s his partner lying there next to her. They’re cops, he says and she and her trained gorilla are up to their necks in it. Leland interjects that he is quite shocked. Emma is surprised to see him alongside the detective. He tells her that he was making some final goodbyes at the party when Emma disappeared. He went looking for her and found Detective Fontaine, but now, upon seeing her in her current state—
They can find out everything they need to know when they get them to the precinct, Detective Lowell says, interrupting Leland. Emma smirks upon hearing this. She doesn’t think she’s going anywhere.
Two quick thoughts and an exchange of weapons later, Emma finds herself in charge of the minds of both Lowell Fontaine and Harry Leland. Harry hoists the unconscious Sean Cassidy into his enormous arms. Emma instructs them to take Sean straight to the hospital—and not to dawdle. Then, the two of them are to go home and get to bed. They are to make sure they brush their teeth and wash behind their ears first—and they are not to remember a thing of this in the morning.
“That’s that,” she tells Hank the Beast after they leave. “I have to say, this has been a very successful night in terms of honing my telepathy.” As soon as she says this, however, she realizes she failed to specify that the two men were supposed to go to separate homes and separate beds. “Whoops.”
With that, she tells Hank they had better get going. His place is a wreck. She tells him not to worry, though; if the rest of the day goes as planned, they’ll have the resources to set him up anywhere. And then, they’re going to help each other to get it. When Hank asks what they’re going to get, she replies with one, simple word: “Everything.”end of flashback
With that, Stan “the Man” Lee turns back to the reader with the remote in his hand. “Call me a softie if you will, but I love romantic endings,” he says, while Dark Beast and Emma fade to black on his TV screen. “Of course, explosions and car chases are pretty nice, too. But now I’ve got to get back to ‘Baywatch’… I find it intellectually stimulating to ponder the profound philosophical message inherent in each bikini-clad episode. Anyway, I need to relax before facing the rigors of our next issue. I tell you, O keeper of the flame, you won’t believe what happens in our follow-up thriller! So don’t miss it, okay? I’d hate to have to sit here, talkin’ to myself!”


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[Assistant]
No Surrender
Down on his knees, Skin looks up into the brown eyes of the young woman who is holding a knife to his throat from behind. While reflecting on how he got into this mess, Angelo thinks that death is beautiful and smells of Chanel Allure.
(yesterday)Synch, Husk, M, Skin and Chamber are at Venice Beach. Among the many tourists and weird people dressed in hip clothes, they don't have to worry about standing out. Paige, who grew up on a farm, is amazed by all the people. Jono telepathically reminds her to not let her guard down, as there are always pickpockets in such crowds. Paige replies that she doesn't keep anything in her pockets, but Chamber says that is all the more reason to watch out for strangers putting their hands in them. After the teenagers get some fast food, Jono tries to talk with Paige in private, but she is too busy checking out some sunglasses with Monet. An inline-skater bumps into Chamber, and the scarf across his mouth slips open. The boy sees the energy leaking out, but he thinks that Chamber must have been eating "those new neon Gummi-Bears", and skates on. Meanwhile, the two girls agree that their male classmates seem to have forgotten how to have fun and call them Neanderthals. Realizing that Skin overheard their last comment, M quickly corrects herself. She meant to say they are wonderful.
Anyway, they need to get going and Angelo takes them to the place where his cousin, Gil, lives. Actually, it is the house of the cousin's mom, but she moved up to Santa Fe, so Gil figures it is his place now. Angelo explains that Gil is the only member of his family that knows that he is still alive and he watches out for Angelo's mother. Right before the house, Skin bumps into a jogger, who apologizes and then moves on. Skin feels like he has been hit by a brick wall.
Meanwhile, it is raining heavily in New York. Two men are sitting in a car observing a house, but fail to notice that they in turn are being watched from across the street. Emma Frost, disguised with a black wig, and Banshee, with glasses and a fake beard, notice that this, like most other residences of Emma are being observed by a surveillance team. Penance is with them, sitting in a wheelchair and covered with a cloak and a hood. Sean wonders what to do - the X-Men have been blasted out of the sky by Operation: Zero Tolerance, the kids are missing and they desperately need a safe haven that isn't under surveillance. Emma knows at least a solution for the later, she has one more secure place, though it is in Florida. They head to the airport.
Gil opens the door and is not very happy to see his cousin. He tells them he is busy and asks Angelo and his friends to come back later, but Skin stretches a finger to shut him up. The two fight a little, but it's just fun. When Skin asks if Gil has something to eat for them, Gil replies that Sugar Bombs and Coke are all he can offer. M and Paige are very happy to hear that, and several boxes and bottles later, the teenagers are enjoying themselves, while Chamber is playing a guitar. Paige notices that Angelo has gone out, and follows him. Angelo says that he has a lot on his mind and has decided that the next day he will contact the sole person who can help them. The problem is, she hates him and wants him dead. Looking through the window, Jono sees Paige comforting Skin.
(present)Tores is still holding the knife to Angelo's neck, while her men are keeping the other Generation X members in check with their guns. Angelo asks if they can talk.
Banshee, Emma and Penance have arrived in Florida, where it is raining too. They secretly enter Emma's house through one of the windows just in case it is observed.
Back in L.A. Tores says that she has waited for this reunion for a long time. Angelo is surprised, as she was actually sad after she believed him dead. However, as Tores explains, some time ago Zero Tolerance troops approached her to reveal that he was alive and well. Skin says that Zero Tolerance is after every single mutant and very dangerous, as they could find them any minute. Tores is sure they will. When they informed her of Angelo being alive, she had said to them that if he ever came back to L.A., he would come to Gil's house. Skin is shocked, but also wonders if the troops know where they are, why they haven't attacked yet. Tores does not care, she only wants to kill him now personally.
At the same time, a small crowd is gathering in front of the house, among them the jogger from the other day. Suddenly, they transform into Prime Sentinels. Turns out that their sensors told them that Tores is a mutant too and they had been waiting for her and Generation X to be in the same spot to get rid of them with a single strike. The six robots activate their weapons, aim and set Gil's house on fire. They enter the building to scan for survivors. Synch and Husk lie unconscious, but Tores is still standing and angrily tells the troops that "this wasn't part of the deal". Yet the Sentinels do not care and try to blast her, but Skin pulls her out of the line of fire in time.
Chamber takes command and tells the group to run, while he and M carry Paige and Everett. Gil, Tores and the last of her men accompany them. With the Sentinels in hot pursuit, the teenagers run through Venice, but the humans that they pass are not afraid - actually they seem a little bit bored. To buy them some time, Chamber blows up a car. Skin wonders how they can get out of this mess, and Tores suggests they go down into the sewers. Generation X actually do not trust her, but what choice do they have?
In Florida, Emma is complaining that she and Banshee have to eat cold food from cans while sitting in the dark. She would even cook a hot meal herself, but Banshee tells her not to. Since they don't know if this house is under surveillance, they can't dare turn on a light or make a flame. The two tutors of Generation X get into an argument, but soon make up with each other, realizing they are both on the edge because they are worried about the kids. Meanwhile, Penance senses somebody else being in the room and tries to hide behind the furniture. D.O.A. makes his presence known and throws Penance an apple, before talking to Sean and Emma. He is here to deliver a message from Emplate, and an astral image of him appears. Emplate explains that he is constantly aware of his sister's whereabouts and he will help to find the missing kids through Monet. Banshee knows that there has to be a price and D.O.A. confirms it. In exchange, Emplate wants Penance back.
In Zero Tolerance's headquarters, the former Hulkbuster base in New Mexico, Daria's nanotechnology is spreading out of control. Both Jubilee and Daria herself are surprised by this display of powers. Jubilee reasons that Daria must have used her powers on reflex when she attacked her with her pyrokinetics. Daria is crying, as she realizes that she is partially machine and fears that she is falling apart. Jubilee tries to help and tells her that she knows lots of people with powers and she has often seen what needs to be done when somebody's powers are out of control. She reassures Daria and tells her to relay and draw her power back into her. The frightened girl listens to Jubilee's calm words and manages to pull herself back together and restore her appearance. The girls hug and Jubilee says that it is all right, although Daria knows it isn't. If Jubilee is what Zero Tolerance calls a freak, then what is she?
In California, the Sentinels have entered the sewers too. In the distance, they pick up the signatures of Generation X. As they exclaim, "We have them. There is no exit!" they proceed.


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Some Things Hurt More Than Cars And Girls
Penance is confused. She doesn’t understand why she Emma and Banshee had to leave Massachusetts in a plane and why they are now in Florida where it is hot and raining all the time. Also, the two teachers are constantly arguing and, on top of it all, D.O.A., Emplate’s handyman appeared and, instead of fighting him, Sean and Emma are talking to him. Penance has no idea what is going on and cowers behind the sofa. The two teachers are still arguing about Emplate’s offer. Banshee is against it. He won’t hand over Penance to him, but Emma reminds him that in turn he would point them to the other kids‘ location. Additionally, they have no proof that Emplate will harm Penance. Banshee says that she must be mad; after all Penance has endured at his hands they know for sure that Emplate will harm the girl. Emma insists that sacrificing one for the sake of the rest of the students is the only option they have. Her whole life has been one big compromise, choosing the lesser of two evils. Sean doesn’t agree. While they are discussing, Emplate’s astral projection breaks up. D.O.A. checks his transmitting unit and finds it malfunctioning, a few wires need to be fixed.
In LA, the missing kids emerge from the sewers through a manhole. As she is nearly indestructible, M comes out first and can’t see a thing in the dark place they are in. The others come out behind her and soon the switch for the light is found. To their surprise, the teenagers are in a giant carpark. Gil explains that his uncle owns this place and he got it very cheap because of the sewer access in the middle of it. Skin enjoys looking at the many cars and Tores comments how he always had a thing for cars. Monet finds a scooter and drives a few rounds because it reminds her of the similar one she rode in St. Tropez. A ’55 Chevy reminds Husk of her father’s car. She tells Chamber that he had to sell it when things got bad at the coal mine, but Jono is very harsh on her, saying that, in London, he took the tube and is not interested in cars at all, before turning away from her.
M drives after him and honks. She tells Jono that he is an idiot to hurt Paige like he just did. Everybody looking at them knows that they both have feelings for each other. Chamber says that he saw her out with Skin the other day, but Monet explains that they are just teammates and friends. She reminds him that, in their business, nobody lives forever and they should make the best of the time they have. Chamber says that she sounds like a woman in her forties, which M takes as a compliment. He walks back towards Paige and apologizes. Jono also tries to make up for the way he acted when he and Paige were visiting her family in Kentucky and she tells him to forget it. Tores interrupts the quiet moments, telling the team that while they were busy playing with cars, she and her operative have found an office with a window to the outside. Actually, they thought they had lost the Sentinels chasing them, but they are gathering in front of the building. There are even more than before.
In New Mexico, Jubilee is once more in a cell of the headquarters of Zero Tolerance, wearing a straitjacket. She has lost track of how many days she has been in this place and wonders if it is already a month or not. In the monitor room, Daria keeps staring on the screens showing Jubilee’s image, thinking of how Jubilee helped her instead of escaping. Another operative tells Daria to get back to work.
Banshee still objects to Emma bartering away Penance’s freedom. He announces to stop Emma by any means necessary. Before he has a chance to do so, Emma unleashes her telepathic powers on Sean and knocks him out. Penance curiously looks at the unconscious Banshee who is bleeding from his nose. Emma orders her to come over and, since Penance doesn’t comply, she takes mental control of her. In the meantime, D.O.A. has fixed the transmitter and Emplate’s projection is stable again. Emma asks if Emplate realizes the amount of importance. For the sake of the other kids, she betrayed both Banshee and Penance and now wants to know if they have a deal.
In her prison cell, Jubilee is talking to a mouse, when suddenly the door slides open. It’s Daria. She says that she and Jubilee are both freaks; the difference being that Jubilee at least knows where she comes from, while she has no idea and is afraid to find out. Jubilee tells Daria that Bastion probably gave Daria her powers, and that Zero Tolerance differentiates between beings born with powers and those who acquire them through other means, that’s why they don’t hunt Spider-Man or the Avengers. Daria states that this might be the way Bastion perceives things, but not her. She unhooks Jubilee’s restraints and as Jubilee still doesn’t understand, she says she will help her escape.
In Venice, Generation X, Gil and Tores wonder what to do. Paige says she might have a plan and they definately need a good strategy as more and more Prime Sentinels gather outside. M notices that Synch is standing a little bit apart, looking depressed. She walks over to him and asks what is the matter. Everett opens up and says that they have never faced something like this before. Although he is not afraid of dying, he regrets the many things he hasn’t done yet. He never learned to drive, he never went to Paris, he never met the Black Panther and most importantly he never had a girlfriend – and now he probably never will. Synch asks M if at least she and him could kiss properly, so that he would have at least that. She hesitates, but agrees for only one kiss, admitting that she herself is not familiar with that experience. They kiss deeply and Everett is impressed. Paige calls them back to the group – the Sentinels are attacking!


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[Assistant]
Rites of Passage
In a warehouse in California, Skin and his former "business associate," Tores, are surrounded by a horde of Prime Sentinels. As the Sentinels lunge at them, Tores releases a psi-blast at the nearest one, catching Skin be surprise since he didn't know that she was a mutant. Skin and Tores dive for cover as the Sentinels reconfigure their attack plan by downloading plans to deal with the newly revealed telepath. The two friends bicker as they jump out from under their cover, just as the rest of Generation X crashes through the roof.
They have the upper hand, Paige even is able to husk into stone under pressure, but their victory is short lived. A Prime Sentinel comes up behind her and Chamber shoots at him to protect his crush. However, the Sentinel dodges the attack and the blast hits Paige, knocking her out cold. With Chamber distracted, he is easily taken down by an optic blast from one of the Sentinels. M is knocked across the room, landing to a bloody Synch, effectively caught in the corner.
The Sentinels converge on their remaining targets, preparing for a group attack. M tells Synch that the only way for him to make it through the attack is for him to synch up with her invulnerability. He questions if it is safe, because he never tried that before, but M tells him that there isn't enough time to dwell on that fact. As he synchs up with her, he finds out the truth about her, but she tells him that they will have plenty of time to talk about that later. The Sentinels fire upon the two young mutants and they step out of the blast with hardly a scratch. Synch tells M that invulnerability is amazing, that last attack kind of tickled. The teens pose to strike back at their attackers.
In the garage below, Skin's cousin Gil pours gasoline all over the cars, stuffing a soaked rag into one of the gas tanks. He wonders if his friends are all right up above and finds it a shame that he has to destroy so many good cars. A Prime Sentinel crashes through the wall and lands on one of the cars behind Gil, giving him the incentive to light the rag in the car and speed out of the building on his scooter before the building explodes in a fiery blast.
In Florida, Banshee lies unconscious on the floor as Emma Frost makes a treacherous bargain with Emplate and his lackey, DOA. In exchange for the information on where her students are, Emma is willing to give Penance back to her former tormentor. Sean awakes from his stupor to punch Emma in the face. Emplate panics, he hasn't fed on mutant marrow in too long, he is not fit for a confrontation. He orders DOA to transport them back into their dimension, but the button on the device is jammed. Banshee calls out to Penance and she slashes at Emplate. DOA fixes the device and transports them, just in the knick of time as Banshee releases a devastating sonic scream, obliterating the wall where Emplate had stood. Sean says that no one will ever take one of his children as he is still breathing. He kneels down next to Penance, telling her that since he missed out by not raising his daughter, he will not fail his students. As he picks her up and walks out the hole in the wall to leave, Emma comes to her senses and yells to him.
At the top secret Operation: Zero Tolerance base in New Mexico, Bastion and his operatives watch as Jubilee escapes on the back of Daria. Jubilee tells Daria that they should probably surrender, but Daria tells her that she will keep her promise to get her out of there. Three Prime Sentinels take off after the two girls, closing in fast. The Sentinels land moments later, scanning the surrounding area for their targets. They see a shape take off from a crevice in the canyon and immediately fly after it. From the safety of the canyon, Jubilee watches her friend's valiant sacrifice, thanking her for her bravery.
The fire department finishes putting out the blaze of the remnant factory. The chief says that they are going to need back up to find the missing people. Gil wonders if anyone could have survived the blast. Just then, one of the fire fighters finds someone and pulls him free from the rubble. It is Synch and the only thing on his mind is finding the others. He stands up and extends his mutagenic aura to find his missing teammates. He locates M and runs to her, digging her out from underneath the wreckage. He holds two girls, twins, in his arms and replies that he has got her… both of her.
Back in Miami, Emma pleads with Sean not to leave. She tells him that he has to believe that she would never give up Penance. Sean lashes out at her, telling her that he can't believe anything she says; words come cheap to her and every other villain. He had forgotten that she is still the White Queen of the Hellfire Club and tells her that she is not welcome around the institute anymore. With that, he says his goodbyes and flies off, leaving Emma to wallow in her self-pity.
In the New Mexico canyon, Jubilee reruns the plan that Daria gave her.The high walls of the canyon will keep her safe from Sentinel scans and, if she works her way out of the canyon, there should be a road where she can get a ride into town. As she wanders off into the distance, she wonders how everyone at the school is doing. Probably nothing new, she thinks. They can't get into trouble without her.


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The Wages of Despair
The Massachusetts Academy, where Jonothan “Jono” Starsmore a.k.a. Chamber decides that the idea is, if he is watching, then he is training. As long as he can convinced Sean Cassidy, the headmaster, of that, then he can get away with spending the afternoon of a school day watching Emma Frost the White Queen, the other headmaster, and his teammate M chasing each other around the Biosphere like a couple of field mice.
Jono perches himself on a ledge around the inside edge of the Biosphere and watches as Emma rushes through the lush forest landscape, while M flies overhead after Emma. ‘That lass... she’s gifted. That’s putting it mildly’ Jono thinks to himself about M, while recalling that Sean and Emma call this game Hunter-Hunter, that the idea is to slap your opponent on the heel, like an Indian counting coup. Given that M is fast and strong, and airborne, and Emma is a telepath who knows what you are thinking pretty much before you think it, Jono gathers that Emma is running scared with M hot on her heels – so to speak.
But, M face-plants into the muddy ground as Emma dodges her student’s grasp. Jono climbs the biosphere wall for a better view, and as far as he could tell and as human sight could register, when M took the plunge, somehow not so much as Emma’s heel was hanging out where M thought her teacher was. So he guesses that M learned a valuable lesson.
‘At some point you’ve got to let your brain go – and let your power take over’ the White Queen announces. Chamber communicates with Emma telepathically and as M’s body sinks deeper into the ground, he tells Emma that he doesn’t think M heard her, unless she has learned to hear through four feet of top soil. ‘I meant the lesson for you, Jonothan’ Emma tells him as she taps M on her heels, explaining that M has already learned it.
Jono goes over to the mud and grabs M by her ankles. Trying to pull her out of the mud, he tells the White Queen that he thinks she is stuck hard. ‘Really?...You think?’ Emma mutters.
Chamber reports that if M doesn’t budge, he can blow the ground out from around her psionically. ‘You deal with it. I have every confidence’ Emma tells him. Jono speaks to M, telling her that if she can hear him, to press to her left. Suddenly, a fist bursts up through the ground, ‘Just as soon not, thanks!’ M declares, as she breaks free from the mud, covered in dirt and dripping wet. M announces that she has a preference to be intact rather than serve as one of Chamber’s physics experiments. ‘Nice to see you again, gal’ Chamber tells her, before M asks which way Emma went.
Jono tells himself that M is a nice sort, until she opens her mouth. ‘That’s the real reason I hesitated to blast her out of the dirt. I took this as my cue to let the ladies commune with nature’.
Nearby, Emma has indeed been communing, with something she and M both describe as a “glowing egg” hanging over a branch. ‘What... what is it?’ M asks as she approaches Emma, who has a look of shock on her face, and gasps ‘Ha...Haroun! As the glowing energy vanishes, Chamber repeats ‘Haroun? What’s a Haroun?’
Later, inside the Academy proper, Jono sits on the stairs on some stairs in front of the girls’ bathroom, realizing that he didnt’ see the energy until it was just fading in the air. He is waiting for M, who soon approaches the bathroom. ‘Nice grooming, lass’ Jono tells her, as M is still wet and dirty. ‘Sean closed his office door? He never closes his office door’ M remarks. ‘Seems he does at least once’ Jono points out, informing M that Emma is in there with him, and that they want to see her. ‘Something about some mysterious manifestation you saw and I didn’t’ he adds.
Angelo “Skin” Epsinosa pokes his head around the corner and asks ‘Mysteries? Manifestations? Aliens, maybe? Gets hairy around here when we do aliens!’ Seeing M, Skin asks ‘Hey, M...fashion statement?’ M replies ‘Training accident’ without looking at Skin. ‘Tasty’ Skin tells her.
‘You’re gross, Angelo’ M calls out as she passes Chamber and goes into the bathroom.
‘This is news to you?’ Skin jokes and asks ‘What’s the buzz?’ as Paige “Husk” Guthrie approaches her teammates, and informs Angelo that Jono says they have a problem with aliens or something. ‘Did Sean close his door?’ Paige asks. ‘Did I just say that?’ Jono mutters.
In the bathroom, M stares into the mirror. ‘I can’t believe I let those barbarians see me like –’ she tells herself, before suddenly, seeing the reflection of a muscular man approach her in the mirror. ‘Who the –’ M gasps as she spins around, but finds no one there. ‘It looked like... like... nobody’ she tells herself.
Outside in the corridor, Skin asks Paige if she wants to go out there and look for aliens. Husk tells him that he might get through life a little easier if he just backs off a little. ‘Do I look like the kinda guy who can afford to back off? Oh, no no no, chickie. I’m the kinda guy...who just wants to have a little fun!’ Skin exclaims, grinning as he leaps into the air, and starts swinging from a chandelier.
Chamber tells Husk not to humor Skin, as he is just trying to goad her. Husk replies that she knows, but that she hasn’t so much as gone for a run today, and she wonders what will come up. Husk then shifts her form into a diamond-hard state, and she literally starts climbing the wall.
Jono thinks to himself that Husk is the nicest girl he knows, but that she does have the chronic need to overcompensate, like when she morphs into something – in this instance, a crust of pure diamond, the toughest form that Jono has ever seen Husk grow. He decides that he will have to talk to Paige about her overcompensation some time, if he ever gets her to hold still long enough.
‘You’re whaling on that chandelier, Skin!’ Husk calls out. ‘Nothing compared to what you did to the wall, Husk!’ Skin retorts as he swings towards her. Husk grabs one of Skin’s legs and asks him how they plan on getting down. ‘What do you mean we?’ Skin asks.
M exits the bathroom and asks what is going on as she looks up at her teammates. Chamber informs her that they are letting off steam, before telling her that she cleaned up nice.
Meanwhile, while two of Chamber’s teammates are making a shambles of the school’s main lounge, others are out and about, getting accosted by what appear to be ghosts. Everett Thomas a.k.a. Synch is down by the river. Not normally the brooding type, it appears that is what he is doing, when suddenly, a woman in a pink costume appears before him, seemingly out of nowhere. ‘Where did you come from? Don’t I know you –’ Synch begins, before the woman runs towards him, and transforms into a large purple cat. ‘CATSEYE!’ Synch exclaims as she scratches his face with her claws. ‘Right, Everett. Catseye. And we’re calling you in’ Catseye tells him. Catseye was one of the Hellions, the group of young mutants the White Queen used to train. ‘No, that wasn’t Catseye...and I can prove it’ Synch tells himself, looking at his blood-stained hand. The Hellions all died – and the White Queen has never gotten over it.
In the gym, Jubilation Lee a.k.a. Jubilee is working out, balancing on a beam. She tells herself that there is nothing to her left and nothing to her right, while carefully placing one foot in front of the other, for lately, Jubilee has been getting very serious about keeping in top fighting form. Suddenly, something upends Jubilee and she falls off the beam, ‘TAROT!’ Jubilee gasps when she sees the dead Hellion standing over her, a tarot-card creation of Death, holding a scythe, at Tarot’s side. ‘...bet your socks it is, dear Jubilation’ Tarot remarks. Tarot also died when the Hellions were slaughtered. She suggests to Jubilee that she warn her little friends that their time is coming too. ‘Meanwhile, don’t draw too many royal flushes’ she adds. ‘Excuse me?’ Jubilee asks, before Tarot vanishes.
Back in the longue, Sean Cassidy a.k.a. Banshee and Emma have left Sean’s office, and seeing Skin swinging from the chandelier, and Husk sticking to the roof, Sean shouts ‘How many times have I got to tell you – not in the main building!?’ But Skin just smiles and replies that he doesn’t know what came over him. ‘That’s what we’ve got gyms... and workout rooms... and a whole bleeding Biosphere for!’ Sean replies, before asking M if she cares to give her friends a relatively soft landing. ‘Yes, Sir’ M replies as she flies upwards and takes hold of Skin, before Banshee asks his students what they know of people seeing ghosts, or apparitions or spooks.
Suddenly, Jubilee rushes into the lounge, ‘Hey, guys! I just saw Tarot... out in the gym! Big as life!’ she exclaims, while Synch enters as well, declaring that he saw something that looked like Catseye by the river, but that it wasn’t Catseye, he is sure of it.
As Husk is brought back to the ground, Banshee remarks ‘Diamond, eh? Not bad’. Husk tells him that she is sorry, but Banshee points out that they have bigger fish to fry, and sends Paige to the infirmary. ‘You know the drill’ he adds. ‘Urg’ Husk mutters, and as Banshee puts a robe around her, he tells the rest of Generation X that they have a meeting to call. ‘At least my gross medical self-exam gets me out of the meeting’ Husk thinks to herself. ‘Are you all right, Emma?’ Sean asks. ‘No. Not really’ Emma replies, rattled by the sudden appearances of her precious dead students.
In the infirmary where Paige is headed, the mysterious girl called Penance is having a run in with one of the Hellions, Bevatron. Despite being one of the most physically powerful creatures on the planet, with a density that approaches that of a dwarf star, Penance is skittish as she sees Bevatron, although no one could know whether she registers him as one of the Hellions. But, as she tries to touch him with her contracted tendrils where everyone else has fingers, she puts them against his chest, and realizes that she is not touching something humanoid. Penance retreats, wide-eyed, and raises her hands to her face. She is a dangerous girl, more dangerous for her fear. And the image of Bevatron, even when it isn’t blowing off blinding light at someone who is used to the shadows herself, is enough to move anyone to wanton destruction.
There is a loud crashing noise as Penance starts tearing up the infirmary. ‘Who’s there?’ Paige calls out, before rushing into the room, despite Jono telling her to be careful. ‘Penance? What?’ Husk calls out, while Banshee reminds Husk that there is no telling what is going on with Penance. ‘Oh, she’s just a girl, Sean. I wish you’d all stop treating her –’ Husk begins, to which Skin mutters ‘A girl who can crush a truck between her finger-tips’, while Husk concludes ‘- like she’s some kind of monster!’ Penance pulls back, wide-eyed still, and with her dangerous “claws” covering her face, while Husk points out that she is shaking, and that she needs some reassurance. ‘Aye, but it’s never been safe to –’ Banshee begins, while Emma shushes him, pointing out that Paige is currently diamond-hard, and as Husk wraps her arms around Penance, Penance does the same. ‘Do you have any idea how long it’s been... since this child has been hugged?’ Emma asks. It is true, and Generation X have a pretty good idea of what – or who – has spooked Penance. Penance knows enough to be careful as she can with Paige’s diamond skin, and backs off when under Paige’s tattered robe, the diamond begins to crack.
Banshee, the White Queen and the young heroes have their meeting, but no one knows why they are seeing dead Hellions alive – but the Academy becomes a sinkhole of depression, no one wants to get up in the morning, with everyone becoming imitation Chambers, huddling in their corners with their attitudes, only they aren’t near as good at it as Jono.
Another day, the sun shines down. While Everett and Angelo pack a jeep with some duffel bags, Everett tells Banshee that he can’t handle the depression around here, and that he is grateful Sean is letting him and Angelo skip campus for a few days. He adds that it has been almost a week since they have seen these “visions”, but that nobody seems to want to do anything about it. Banshee tells Synch that he doesn’t know what he means, reminding him that they had a meeting about it the other day. ‘Everybody’s talking past everybody else, man. If it was really Catseye – even her ghost – I’d’ve been able to get in synch with her... but I couldn’t, get it?’ Synch explains. Banshee replies that he does, and tells Synch that he and Skin need to call in when they get to Boston. Skin is rummaging through one of the bags, while Synch asks ‘See what I mean, Jono?’ before he and Skin drive off in the jeep. ‘Did he say something to me?’ Jono asks Banshee, who replies ‘I forget...’
The atmosphere around the Massachusetts Academy starts to get to Chamber, too – and he has a built-in immunity to induced depression. He asks Banshee if he thinks things are a tad weird around here, but Sean tells him that everyone just has spring fever, is all. Jono glances sideways and thinks to himself ‘I’m depressed normally – well beyond anyone’s power to add or detract. Besides... spring ended months ago!’ Soon, pretty much everyone’s eyes are glazed over with a crust of apathy. Sitting in some grass, leaning against a tree, Jubilee tells herself that she should be working out on the trampoline today, before wondering how many blades of grass fit in a square foot. Husk finds some diamond chips and supposes that she can set up a scholarship fund now, while, on the road, Synch asks Skin if he feels the weight come off his shoulders. ‘What weight? What shoulders?’ Skin replies.
On a patio in a garden, Emma holds a book in her hands. ‘Read some Sartre...? Why bother?’ she asks herself. In the gymnasium, M is working out, and suddenly, wonders where she is, while Penance wanders the grounds, seemingly confused. Chamber wonders if his friends are letting him know what a bloody drag it is to be around him sometimes. Casually, Banshee asks Jono if they have something on the agenda for today. ‘You mean like classes... meals? Maybe a nap?’ Jono replies. While walking away, he decides that these are not the people he is used to living with, that he would say they were strangers, but somewhere in his bio-nuclear gut, he thinks there is a real stranger lurking around these parts somewhere. Indeed, standing in the shadows of a building, a man creeps, his red eyes glaring out through the darkness.
Whatever is causing this malaise is centered on Emma, for as she sits on the gazebo, the “illusions” start getting offensive – as the muscular Hellion Beef bursts from the ground, breaking up through the gazebo, and sending a shocked Emma through the air.As the gazebo is blown apart, everyone on campus sees it – but has a hard time caring. Jono rushes back to Banshee, who is staring in the direction of the explosion. ‘Sean? Sean! Anybody home in there? Banshee! That’s Ms Frost gone exploding up into the sky!’ Jono calls out. ‘Yeah, she’ll do that once in a while’ Banshee remarks casually. ‘Banshee... be a hero!’ Jono tells him, putting his hand on Sean’s shoulder. Banshee takes flight, his sonic scream filling the air as he does, before he grabs hold of Emma before she hits the ground. They turn to the ground where Beef burst through, but find nothing out of the ordinary, and Beef nowhere in sight. ‘Nice explosion’ Banshee remarks. ‘Yeah’ Chamber replies while Emma casually turns back to her book.
It is clear that Emma is haunted – and hunted as well. Once, there was a man named Trevor Fitzroy who attacked the Hellfire Club, and in the process, Emma was left in a psionically-induced coma, while the Hellions took on Fitzroy and were slain by Fitzroy himself or some Sentinels. When the White Queen woke up after the tragedy, she blamed herself for letting the Hellions go into battle untrained. Now, through Emma, something has a bead on the next generation of X-Men. Emma is sure it is the enraged psychic remains of the Hellions – but it isn’t. It’s something else. ‘I want it back, please – may I have it back?’ Emma asks, while a shadowy figure asks her what it is she wants back. ‘My soul...’ Emma utters, dropping to the ground and clutching her head as she remembers her mysterious encounter.
No one else could handle the crush of emotional torpor that Chamber is used to living with every day, so he takes matters into his own hands. He starts doing some research on the computer. ‘Emotional torture wearing down the psyche. It’s got to be someone’s modus operandi’ he tells himself, wishing he had more to go on than Banshee’s database. ‘A glance of a figure... an ultimatum...’ he thinks to himself, before turning to the window when he hears sirens and sees fire trucks driving past the Massachusetts Academy. He turns the police radio band on and learns that every fire truck in Berkshire Country is being summoned to Snow Valley as the old town hotel is going up in flames. Chamber tells himself that some of the folks who are best equipped in the world to see to the emergency – Generation X – are right here and can’t be bothered. ‘Well, no matter. I’m on my way’ he decides.
But, that is easier said than done, as Chamber finds that the roadside is blocked for forty miles bit fire fighting equipment, and decides that it would be a lousy entrance. ‘Couldn’t help thinking that. It was the old stage musician in me’ he thinks to himself. As the sirens continue, Chamber rushes to find Emma curled up on a sofa. He tells her that she has to snap out of this thing, as it is souring everything around. ‘Maybe she heard me... maybe not... made no difference’ Chamber realizes as Emma just remains curled up on the couch. He goes into another room where Paige and Jubilee are playing table tennis – both with blank stares on their face, neither look up at Jono. He soon finds Banshee outside and asks him to fly him to the Snow Valley Hotel, that they have to get there right now. ‘Yardwork!’ Sean replies as he holds a shovel in one hand. ‘Excuse me?’ Jono asks him. ‘Got to keep this place in order. Yardwork! Very important’ Sean explains. Going into the Biosphere, Chamber sees M watering some plants and asks her to fly him into town. ‘Oh, these sirens are so... disturbing’ M remarks. ‘Are they?’ Chamber replies. ‘What if I can get the sirens to stop?’ he asks.
That makes the impression on M – the promise of a measure of peace. He wraps his arms around her as the super-strong young woman flies to the scene of the fire, and starts to descend, but in the wrong place, so Chamber tells her not to set down amongst the flames, but by the pond behind the hotel. M does so, causing Chamber to think that his friends are not beyond reason or redemption, that whatever is chewing their insides was something they wanted to shed. Chamber then instructs M to just circle the area while he douses the fire. ‘You’ll stay...right, M?’ he asks, but as she takes to the skies, M offers no response. ‘Communicative sort. I can’t fly through the sky like some I know’ Chamber thinks to himself, but he unleashes his bio-nuclear core to the elements, which causes the pond to steam up into a contained cyclone, which blows up from the pond, and whips through the roof of the pine forest, shields M who is absently flies above, and it passes over the heedless, ineffective firemen, before hovering over the hotel, stagnant in a tail, narrow thunderhead as the last of the fire trucks arrive and the last of the sirens stop blaring.
However, Chamber’s ride loses interest and she flies on back to the Massachusetts Academy, presumably to water some more plants. Chamber supposes that he ought to thank M, as the trajectory of her exit helped suck his thunderhead into the position he wanted it. No matter, there is nothing more for Chamber to do but climb the hill from the bank of the pond and hope there wasn’t too much damage in the intervening minutes. Trudging up the slope, he tells himself that the longer it takes him to get up the hill, the likelier it is that a fireman will think to use the pond as a water source and see him. But, nobody does. And, arriving at the still burning hotel, Jono decides that it is a comedy of errors – rafters burning and hoses running out of water – and enough vapor hanging in the sky to flood a small village. Chamber hopes he can shoot a blast of psionic energy up into the sky and keep what is left of his body intact at the same time. He does so, and in spectacular display, the energy strikes the clouds and rain begins to pour down over the remains of the hotel. Soon, the firemen mostly go home, or back to wherever firemen go.
Chamber, however, has a harder time of easing on down the road, but manages to hitch a ride in the back of a farmer’s truck, sitting on some hay bales, with pigs at his feet. It’s not that he dislikes the rural types who mostly populate Western Massachusetts, he does like them. He thinks about what to say to M on the way home, and it’s not like his sinuses are what they once were. ‘Peace, brother!’ Jono calls out to the driver when he gets off the truck. Arriving back at the Massachusetts Academy Jono finds Paige outside reading a book. ‘I... hitchhiked. In a pickup truck full of hay and pigs’ he tells her. ‘Nice quiet day, yes?’ Paige replies. Chamber knows that there is a problem, and he’s probably the only one who does. That is probably why he was the first one the stranger hit with the next phase of this siege. His head suddenly hurts, the way it used to hurt when he was a little kid, with a migraine, when his head and body were whole. He doesn’t feel himself fall to the ground.
But, when he looks up, Chamber finds himself in an old city, a misty city, the way Great Britain is chilly. He is in London, and realizes that he is whole again. It feels odd to him. ‘Here?’ Jono asks as he sees a sign for the Hellfire Club. He approaches the door and announces ‘I have an appointment to see –’ but the man at the door interrupts, ‘- Miss Frost’ he states, before asking Master Starsmore to follow him. ‘Excuse me, but what am I supposed to –’ Jono begins, but the figure turns around, and snarls ‘Miss Frost will give you your instructions’. It is indeed a face, not a mask, and it is one Jono had seen somewhere before. The face is greyish, with red eyes, and he looks like some sort of demon.
Meanwhile, in Boston, a ninety-five minute drive to the East, Synch and Skin are sitting at a table in an outdoor cafe, ‘Nice girls, huh?’ Angelo remarks. ‘Yeah, right...when they tried to get us to come to a Friends of Humanity meeting, we should’ve gotten the idea’ Ev replies. ‘Live and learn, bro. Live and learn. Next time...’ Angelo begins, before Everett announces that something has been bothering him. ‘Like I ain’t noticed’ Angelo remarks, while Everett explains that the ghost, or vision, or illusion or whatever he saw, he has felt funny ever since, like a planted a germ in his head. Just then, someone behind Everett accidentally brushes his arm against his back. Angelo remarks that everyone was getting that way as soon as they saw one of the Hellions, like something was bringing everybody down, which is why he wanted to leave. Angelo then notices that food is floating around them – mushrooms and luncheon meat – and asks if they ordered this. ‘Oh, that’s me...or probably the waiter or somebody. Somebody with latent mutant powers probably brushed by mine and I reflexively “synched on him”. He’ll go away’ Everett explains, before Angelo tells him that he thinks it is time they went away. ‘Home?’ Everett asks as they walk over to the jeep. ‘Yeah. Like right now’ Angelo tells him.
As Skin and Synch head home, Chamber is still living this fantasy past. He stands before the White Queen, who introduces herself, and tells him that she understands he has a nuclear core that can generate immeasurable energy by force of will. Chamber knows this is an illusion, but he is compelled to play out his role. The White Queen remarks that as a member of the Hellions, he will be required to put that power at the disposal of the Hellfire Club, without question. Chamber knows that Emma is living through this torturous charade with him, and that all he has to do was deviate from the script to blow it wide open. But, he hesitates and says ‘Uhh – yes, Ma’am’. For, he is whole again, with a stomach and a mouth, and flesh – and that made him weak, and no doubt, that was what the one who cast the illusion into Chamber’s mind is counting on.
Even as Chamber walks through this nightmare, he is vaguely aware of being moved from where he fell, indeed, as M and Husk both in a trance-like state carry him to the Biosphere. Banshee, the White Queen, Jubilee and Penance are all in the Biosphere, hung from a tree like sides of beef, with Penance actually held partially creased by the growth-induced tree trunk. From what Chamber understands, this force has actually re-focussed Emma’s own enormous psychic power to get Generation X to jump through these hoops. Outside the Biosphere, Synch and Skin pull up in the jeep and see Paige and M. ‘Hey, Paige!’ Synch calls out, before telling Skin that they are walking stiff. Skin wonders what is going on here, and Synch tells him that it must be something bad. He looks into the Biosphere and they see the others not moving. Synch tells Skin to keep his head straight, as they have to get them out of there, and he has a bad feeling about this.
Skin tells Synch that the air feels funny, like swimming through jell-o. ‘Well, jell-o or not, we’ve got to get through it – at a dead run’ Synch replies. ‘Right with you, bro!’ Skin calls out as he follows Synch towards the biosphere. They get ten feet in, maybe less, and while their teammates are frozen in place, their brains drenched in their most dire disturbing fantasies, Skin and Synch fall to the ground, as space around them burns like the hearts of a star – their minds then burst with an onslaught of the despondency and pain that had built gradually in the rest of Generation X in the course of these horrid days. Without a word or coherent glance, the captive bodies of M and Husk take Synch and Skin’s bodies, dragging along their tortured souls and hanging them up with the others – which is when the figure of the new master of this place coalesced in the air before the young heroes. ‘Excellent...quite satisfactory...’ the demon known as D’Spayre calls out.
Then, as horrors broke through the resistance in their minds, they begin to “hear” the demon think through their dears. ‘...fresh meat... emotionally unformed... yet powerful... and mine’. D’Spayre states that through flaws in the mature personality of their leader, “the Frost female”, he calls her, the new ones, whose minds he was unable to contain before they left, will come along nicely, and quickly, as the others crumble in the face of their nightmares, so too will he probe the fears in these souls, and direct them to bring the fears of all this world to slake his appetites. As D’Spayre says this, Skin extends a finger past the others, to reach Chamber. Although he doesn’t know it, this sets up a biological arc between Chamber and Synch, meaning Synch manages to absorb Chamber’s own energy through it, which frees him from his state of mind. ‘D’SPAYRE!’ Chamber exclaims.
The demon turns to Chamber, ‘You... the young energy cell... you are more resistant than I estimated’ D’Spayre remarks, deciding that he can use that, but Chamber, not knowing how he got here, or whether this is even the real world,, uses Emma’s meticulous training, which has prepared him to do at least one thing well – improvise – and he casts a powerful surge of energy towards D’Spayre, knocking the demon backwards. ‘Bend... to my will... or I will break you!’ D’Spayre threatens. Chamber thinks that sometimes these subhuman “whackadoodles” who infest Sean’s computer database actually look for things to do or say that energize Generation X to reach beyond any place they have ever gone before to do them in. Inside the Biosphere, in an energy shootout with an extra-dimensional demon while his mates are trapped there with him, Chamber knows that he has to blow D’Spayre to smithereens, and himself, too, for that matter, but cannot figure a way to control it so that he wouldn’t take everyone he cared for with them. Chamber pours the bio-nuclear energy on at D’Spayre, who continues to try and manipulate the young hero.
The moment Chamber realizes this, D’Spayre reads his weakness. ‘Here, young energy cell... I lose my hold on your helpless and weakened comrades...’ D’Spayre announces, and the trapped heroes start to wake up. They would loosen themselves if they had the time, and get out of the biosphere if they found the energy. ‘Look into your mind...upon the scenarios of hopelessness with which I have weakened their souls...’ D’Spayre calls out. Now, Chamber knows that the demon wants only him. He was enough to suit his purposes. He was within a hair of touching Chamber’s power. As Chamber blasts away at D’Spayre, his mind races. He has to figure out a way to save his friends, and he has to do it before D’Spayre shovels the memories of all their worst horrors into his brain. D’Spayre narrates as Chamber sees Banshee, leader of the people, taken advantage of as people overthrow him. His head placed on a chopping block, a large executioner looming over him. And Husk, trapped inside a taxi as the warren of humans around her crumbles. And the White Queen, in her darkest moment, looking on helplessly as the heretic slaughters her charges, the Hellions. ‘Feel... their... pain...’ D’Spayre tells Chamber.
Chamber is trapped in one horrific despairing fantasy after another, no idea who he is or which way was up – but his bio-nuclear body was in charge now, and he knew a way to reach out, for his teachers and classmates, if not for himself. A demon who fed on sorrow picked the wrong boy to try to overcome with the wares of his trade – wares that Chamber lives with every day of his splintered life. He takes what bio-nuclear energy his shattered flesh has to offer, and feeds it into the furnace of his stomach to contain all that the demon is. A funnel reaches as high as the tendered powers of his surrendered flesh can take it – and Chamber prays to whatever in this universe is holy, that somewhere, if for even an instant, D’Spayre knows what hits him and that it causes him pain. The energy rises in awesome fury and every atom and quark that once composed D’Spayre’s dismantled self speeds out somewhere in a different direction from every other, every quantum of energy headed for its own private parsec of space. Generation X, Banshee and the White Queen look to the sky, as the energy begins to fade like a whirlpool. ‘Did you see...what Jono?’ Banshee utters. ‘We saw’ Emma replies. ‘We all saw’ Synch declares.
Chamber knew that he wouldn’t be able to do that to D’Spayre and remain alive, too. ‘We’ve got to do something’ Synch declares. ‘Of course. We’ll set up a foundation for Jono...erect a memorial’ someone suggests. They know Chamber wasn’t the kind of person who could be bothered in life with that brand of foofarah, hefty-priced funerals with costumed mummers and torch-bearing maidens and such. ‘He saved not only us...but the entire Biosphere for maybe hundreds of miles. He was a hero!’ Husk exclaims. Synch looks upwards to the sky and tells the others to do the same. Chamber doesn’t want them calling him names like “hero” behind his back, and as red energy swirls about, ‘What the -?’ Synch asks as everyone stares in horror. Chamber doesn’t do it consciously, any more than disjointed energy has any consciousness at all. It is unknown how his essence homed in on the Massachusetts Academy, except that it is a warmer place than the edge of space, but the essence starts to form in an appearance that Chamber remembers.
As the energy comes together, Jonothan’s naked body stands before Generation X. ‘Jono! You’re...’ someone begins. ‘You’re –‘ someone else calls out. ‘Whole’ he thinks to himself, his stomach, chest and face restored. No bio-nuclear energy trying to escape. The first thing he recognizes when he realizes that he has eyes to see again is Paige. ‘Jonothan? Is that you?’ Paige asks. ‘I... I...’ Jono utters. It feels good, he thinks, as much as he can recall what feeling good is like. But, his center doesn’t hold, not that he could ever expect it would, and his powers flare up almost instantly. He is back to the way his teammates knew him, if not the way he knows himself. They fuss over him and maybe care about him, and, he thinks, maybe even love him. Paige looks on, not talking, and Chamber supposes simply wondering. Chamber thinks to himself that ‘One of these days, I’ll have to have a long talk with that girl... maybe’.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
A Day at the Circus !
At the Muir Island facility off the coast of Scotland, Banshee talks to Moira about Monet St. Croix, or actually the twins she split into. Moira expresses her curiosity about the girls’ state, wondering if the twins are her natural form or an aberrant condition. After looking through the comparative DNA samples and EKGs she nags at Banshee for not bringing the twins along for examination. Sean bashfully tells her that he didn’t think that was a wise decision. Moira comes right out and states the obvious; he didn’t want the girls to be around her because she has the Legacy Virus. Sean asks her how she is feeling and the response is not that encouraging, but there is hope. Moira has found evidence that the secret to curing the disease might lay in the similarity between X-Man’s and Cable’s DNA that she recently noted. Nonchalantly she inquires how things are going at the school with Emma Frost.
Back at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Emma stands vigil over the bodies of the sleeping twins that were formerly the mutant known as M. She hates being taken by surprise, M’s secret completely blindsided her. Paige approaches Emma to ask her if the team can have some get away time; it has been rather stressful and she thinks that the team just needs some time to feel normal. Against her better judgment, Emma concedes to let the team go to the county fair. After all, what harm could it do?
At the circus, the Ringmaster talks to his comrades about their financial crisis. They don’t see the problem; after all, he could just hypnotize the crowd like he usually does so that the rest of them can take the crowds’ money. Ringmaster tells the others that he doesn’t want to continue with the life of crime, but everyone else convinces him that they need the money. He agrees, but only with the stipulation that they only steal from small town audiences, who thanks to his power won’t even know they were hit, so they won‘t be found out by the police.
Back in the dorm room, Husk futilely attempts to convince the rest of the team to go to the county fair with her. Chamber says that because of his own disfigurement he tends to avoid freak shows, and Skin too isn’t interested in Husk’s offer. After enough nagging, Jubilee gives in and orders Synch to come with her.
From a window upstairs, Emma watches anxiously as all five of them go off into town. If she had her way, they’d never venture beyond the school’s grounds as she doesn’t like letting them out of her sight. She can’t protect them when she can’t be near them. On the other hand she knows what it’s like to be locked away for the own good. As she swims around in her thoughts, Penance tentatively sneaks up behind her. Emma whips around to see Penance scurry away. She doesn’t blame Penance for her reaction; she has little reason to trust her after she almost handed Penance over to Emplate. That it was only a ploy doesn’t matter, she has to earn Penance’s trust anew.
On Muir Island, Banshee and Moira talk about Moira’s work habits. After she solves the puzzle of M she is going back to her research on the Legacy Virus. Banshee thinks she works herself too hard without a rest; she doesn’t cherish life anymore. He suggests that the two of them have a break.
At the county fair, Husk tries to get everyone in a good mood but fails miserably. Chamber tries to flirt with Paige, but she is too busy with everyone making feel better to respond. She notices that people are being let into the show tent, and suggest to get in too, or else all good seats will be taken. Asking for the others to save them two seats, Synch and Jubilee decide to go off on their own, while Husk convinces Chamber and Skin to go into the big top with her.
From behind the curtain, the Ringmaster spies ion the gathering crowd and prepares the rest of his team.
Outside, Jubilee and Synch talk about their problems. Synch somehow blames himself for M’s current predicament, confessing to Jubilee that he convinced M to kiss him. He says that because of his mutant ability to synchronize with other mutants, he could have been to blame for her separation. Thinking that he could be a danger to Jubilee as well, he runs off into the crowd.
In the big top, Husk, Chamber and Skin watch the circus performances. Ringmaster steps into the center ring and calling for everybody’s undivided attention, he hypnotizes the crowd. As Paige looses her concentration and starts getting dizzy, her last coherent thought is to warn the others. She instinctively pulls off Chamber’s scarf, releasing a tremendous blast of psionic energy. The blast pulls everyone out of their hypnotic state, but a panic ensues when the rest of the crowd discovers that the three teenagers are mutants. The Ringmaster tells the rest of his cohorts that the must stop the mutants before they turn the Circus of Crime in to the police.
Synch sits outside the big top reveling in his self-pity when Jubilee comes over to him with some cotton candy. He apologizes for acting like a jerk, but she says it’s okay, he is not the only one who blames himself. She sits down next to him and confesses her guilt about Operation: Zero Tolerance and how it was partly her fault. If she had been stronger willed they would not have been able to extract information on the X-Men from her mind. Their conversation is interrupted by a flock of people that come bursting out of the big top talking about the fight inside.
The Circus members attack the three youths immediately. They aim Cannonball at Paige, planning to knock her unconscious, but she quickly husks into a metal form and reflects the attack. Princess Python sicks her pet python onto Skin, but he easily wraps up the large snake with his extended skin. The trapeze artists summersault onto Chamber, who effortlessly blasts them away with a psionic flare. Ringmaster tries to reassert his control over the frightened audience taking every bit of his concentration. Silently he wishes that the Circus of Crime could go back to being simple performers.
On Muir Island, Moira lectures Banshee on his foolishness. She says that there is no time in life for frivolous activities like picnics. She would love an evening out, but it would be irresponsible for her to enjoy herself while there is a task for her to accomplish. Banshee agrees that her work is important and that everyone is counting on her, but no one dies wishing that they had spent more time at work. He tells Moira that he misses her and wraps his arms around her.
Ringmaster complains to his circus crew that they are taking to long to beat a bunch of kids. This rallies them together as they close in on the three young mutants. Jubilee breaks up the ambush by frightening the released circus animals with her pyrotechnics. Calling them crazy, as the animals are both dangerous and worth a fortune, the clown heads to attack Synch. Everett doesn’t know what to do since his mutant power cannot work on a normal human. Instead of using his powers, Synch uses his field training to pick up a cane and stick it in the spokes of the clown’s unicycle.
The Gambonno brothers on the trapeze target Jubilee next. Luigi sneaks up behind her while Ernesto swings down do hit her. Jubilee jumps out of the way, making the brothers collide. Ernesto yells to stop the fight; his brother needs medical attention. The two teams cease fighting to attend to the fallen trapeze artist. Paige asks if there is anything that the Generation X kids could do, but Ringmaster declines. They can keep him patched up until the kids call the police. Paige is baffled by the comment and discusses it with the rest of her team. Jubilee comes up with a solution and runs off to talk to Ringmaster.
Some time later, Ringmaster talks to a full audience, telling them that all profits that were received that day will go to benefit a certain group of local charities. Chamber doesn’t think much of Jubilee’s plan, but she doesn’t see what is so wrong about it. Ringmaster hypnotized the crowd into forgetting the young mutants and the Circus of Crime gets a second chance. Jubilee then incinerates the Ringmaster’s hypnotic hat and throws the now useless device away. As they walk home, the team wonders how Emma will react when she hears about their day’s events. Jubilee thinks she’ll wig, but that‘s an added bonus.
On Muir, Banshee and Moira sit on a blanket having their picnic. Moira confesses that she is glad she came to the picnic even though she feels guilty about abandoning her work. Banshee tells her that life is full of choices, some bitter, some sweet. Moira smiles and tells Sean that he is a good man and that she doesn’t tell him often enough. He agrees, and then they kiss.