In an old shack in the town of Almost Reno, New Mexico, two young children, Johnny and Mary, confide in each other they have mutant powers. Later, Johnny’s burned body is found by the local sheriff, but is soon claimed by two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
X-Force continues their cross-country trip. Having a meal at a diner in Almost Reno, are Bobby DaCosta (Sunspot), James Proudstar (Warpath), Tabitha Smith (Meltdown) and Dani Moonstar. Team leader Theresa Rourke (Siryn) sits in their car, trying to figure out where she got them lost. Dani reads a newspaper story about Johnny, and, despite the unfriendly attitudes of the townspeople, X-Force decides to look into the matter. Bobby and Tab try to learn about the town’s background at a library, while Theresa, James and Dani check out the site where the boy’s body was found. The three suffer a psychic attack until Theresa finds the source: Mary, who has been missing since her mother took her to the doctor, where she overheard their thoughts, frightening her.
Six S.H.I.E.L.D. agents show up to take the girl, and Dani generates a psychic arrow, trying to force them to back off. Mary, however, unleashes a massive psychic blast, stunning everyone. She runs away again.
At the sheriff’s office, X-Force learns from Briggs, the lead S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, that much of the town’s populace had been accidentally exposed to atomic radiation from nearby testing. He explains their assignment is to monitor the mutant children that had been born since then.
Outside, Tabitha begins to confide in Bobby about her past. She had been bullied at school and abused by her father at home. Tab cuts the talk short and walks toward a playground, soon followed by her teammates. There, she sees Mary on a swing, and she joins her while the others watch from a distance. Tab reassures Mary, demonstrating her own power generating small ‘time bombs’, but S.H.I.E.L.D. agents begin to surround the swing set. More confident in her abilities, Mary induces the agents to suffer headaches and nosebleeds, just as her relieved mother runs up to embrace her. Mary and Tabitha give each other a ‘thumbs up’. Soon, X-Force is back on the road, resuming their cross-country trip.
Notes:
- The cover is a homage of a Norman Rockwell painting on a Saturday Evening Post cover.
Log in to comment