The New Mutants #42

Cannonball battled aliens outside with the help of Magma, Sunspot & Wolfsbane, while Lila Cheney's band played inside. They managed to stop a revenge assassination attempt from Charasulla (see The New Mutants Annual #1) and Cannonball kissed Lila. They stopped kissing when his mother appeared on the porch screaming his name and how he had hurt her. His mom slammed the door shut in his face, and Lila mysteriously disappeared.

Cannonball woke from his dream and endured the rest of his bus journey to Cumberland. When he reached the bus terminal, Cannonball took the first opportunity to call Lila from a Pay phone. She was excited at the prospect of meeting his mother, but Cannonball was still shaken by his dream. He flew the rest of the way to the family home, landing at his father's gravestone. There he confessed to his father that he'd been unsure about his new Head Master and told his father about his new girlfriend. Cannonball admitted that she was a wonderful person, but that he was worried about what his mother would think. However, his mother had overheard him and reassured him that if she was good enough for him, then she was bound to love her too.

Back in the house all the kids were excited and rushed around hoping that he'd have presents. They ran off to school, but Josh refused to talk to his older brother and stormed off with his guitar. His mom informed him that Josh was now of an age when he was worried a mutation might begin to develop.

That night Cannonball flew all the way to Lila's concert in Charlotte. He missed the show, but arrived in time to catch up with Dazzler in disguise. He was then pounced on by Lila who was so excited to see him. She showed him a crystal figurine she had as a gift for his mother and confessed how rare the item was. The crystal was alien, and would sparkle whenever someone was singing. Cannonball grew angry and demanded to know where she had stolen it from. Lila was hurt, and the shine left the figurine. She began to cry and he flew away ending the relationship.

The next morning Cannonball tried to talk to Josh, but Josh left for school. Angered, Cannonball followed his little brother outside and they began to fight. Josh shocked his brother by saying how he wasn't needed there anymore. He stormed off to school blaming Cannonball for making him late and angry that his teachers would continue to compare him to his older brother.

Cannonball reminisced by the old baseball diamond before whiling the morning away in the local diner. At lunch time Josh entered the diner surrounded by lots of friends. He was clearly popular and became the center of attention when he began singing along to his guitar. Their mother joined Cannonball and they discussed how the family had coped while he had been living in New York. Suddenly Josh ran up screaming for Cannonball; Lila's plane had crashed and they needed all the help they could get to find her.

Josh asked to help, and agreed to climb on Sam's back to fly to the crash site. At first he felt ridiculous, but when they took off her was amazed by his brother's powers. They soon reached the crash site, but Cannonball didn't dare use his power to pummel a tunnel through the wreckage for fear of causing an avalanche on top of them. Josh crawled through a tiny gap until he saw a light. Inside the wreckage he met Dazzler who said she could create a laser to burn their way out but she needed sound to fuel her power. She asked if Josh had a radio, but instead he began to sing. Outside of the wreckage, Cannonball heard his brother's beautiful singing and saw the laser herald their arrival. Josh accepted Cannonball's praise for his beautiful singing voice, and said that their mother believed it to be his power and compared it to Sam's flight.

Dazzler dragged Lila's body out of the wreckage and chastised Cannonball for the way that they had broken up earlier. She informed him that Lila had dug her own way into he alien mines and carved the crystal figurine herself. An avalanche began above them, and Cannonball relied on his brother and Dazzler to hold on to Lila while he flew them to safety. Once back on the ground he cradled Lila's unconscious body confessing how he'd been an idiot. Lila slowly woke and forgave him with a kiss.

That Sunday she teleported on to the porch of the Guthrie family home. Her hair was blonde and spikey, and she wore outrageous revealing clothes. She still had the crystal figure, and thought about how there was still beauty for flawed things. Cannonball greeted her, and was ready to take her inside when she suddenly vanished. Moments later Lila teleported back with black hair and a more conservative outfit. She had been testing him to see if he's accept her no matter what, and he passed the test.

When the front door opened, Cannonball introduced Lila to his mother and she presented the figurine as a gift.