Brief Description:
Nightcrawler is walking in the halls of the X-Mansion and a couple of students see him. They're overly excited and nervous to see a real live member of the X-Men in person. Nightcrawler enters Iceman's room which is completely covered in ice. He's practicing his powers by animating two mini ice figures. Nightcrawler asks Iceman if he wants to go to the X-Ranch to get some of Stacey X's stuff, which leads Iceman to a tirade about only the original five being proper X-Men. Nightcrawler leaves, offended by his comment. In the infirmary Annie the nurse treats Stacy X. and learns some interesting personal info from Stacy. Meanwhile Professor X still can't find Havok's consciousness. He and Cyclops leave to discuss how they'll handle the Polaris/Annie situation. Nightcrawler and Stacy X go in the Blackbird to the X Ranch with Angel to get Stacy's personal stuff. Sammy and Juggernaut leave the X-Mansion for the day and go to Cain's old house. Juggernaut levels the house while reliving the ghosts of his past. He realizes he's been blaming others for mistakes just like his father blamed him for his. He wants to end that and start to appreciate things from now on.
Full Synopsis:
At the Xavier Institute Nightcrawler is walking through the halls of the X-Mansion when Glob Herman and another student see him. They're overly excited and nervous to see a real live member of the X-Men in person. One of them greets Nightcrawler with "how's it happening?" Nightcrawler politely responds both in German and English and keeps walking. With him still in earshot the two students continue to bicker at each other out of excitement.
Nightcrawler enters Iceman's room which is completely covered in ice. Bobby explains that he's practicing his powers: he's animating two mini ice figures by freezing and unfreezing adjacent molecules in rhythm. The figures look as though they were moving, but actually Bobby's creating and uncreating a whole series that give the illusion of movement.
Nightcrawler practices his newly-learned slang on Bobby and then asks him if he wants to accompany them to the X-Ranch to get some of Stacy X's stuff. Iceman says why is she a member of the X-Men? He feels the X-Men isn't some club you can join just because you're a mutant. The X-Men are the original five members, period. Too late he realizes that this comment was incredibly rude towards Nightcrawler who excuses himself and leaves the room.
Outside Sammy, the new student, catches up to Juggernaut as he's leaving the X-Mansion and asks where he's going. Juggernaut needs some time away from "freak central" or he'll go nuts. Noticing Sammy's hurt look, Cain tries to apologize in his own bumbling way, telling the boy that for him the school may be great, but for Cain it is just a freak show. He realizes that this explanation actually isn't much of an improvement and curtly states that he simply needs to get out for a bit, ok? Since Squidboy has some time to kill before he is officially enrolled, he wants to hang out with Juggernaut - the only person he knows so far - who, at first, behaves like a jerk towards him. Finally Cain - feeling soory for the boy - caves in and tells Sammy he'd like it, if the boy accompanied him. But he'd better not expect free ice cream.
In the infirmary Professor X - watched by a tense Cyclops - is once again trying to telepathically reach the comatose Havok, while Annie, the school nurse, treats Stacy X who recently shed her scale-like skin. Stacy inquires after the relationship between Cyclops and Havok - being pretty new herself, there are still things she has to learn about her fellow X-Men.
Annie and Stacy chat and Stacy keeps on raising her voice when she tells Annie some especially provocative tidbits of her past - such as being a former prostitute clearly trying to shock the nurse and get a rise out of Cyclops. Stacy tells Annie that she has scales not skin, and that her step-dad did something to her when she was young that she doesn't want to talk about. Nightcrawler enters and asks Stacy, whether she's ready to head to the X-ranch. Cyclops finally reacts to Stacy's baiting and calmly tells her to keep her voice down in an infirmary. If she has the need to perform her "tough-girl-show", she should do it outside. Nightcrawler teases Stacy about her being in "trouble" while they leave.
Meanwhile Professor X still can't find Havok's consciousness. He resolves to try again later, maybe even with the help of fellow telepaths Phoenix and the White Queen. Xavier mentions that he's also called Lorna Dane, Alex's former girlfriend, who should arrive the next morning. Cyclops notices Annie tensing up and asks the professor, whether he could speak to him on the outside for a moment.
Annie's been so engrossed following Cyclops' and Xavier's conversation on Alex that she was about to bandage Northstar's entire face, until he reminds her that his mouth isn't injured. Northstar tells Annie the fact that she has fallen in love with a coma patient - little more than a "warm corpse" - seems irrational. Annie replies is the heart ever rational? Besides, she adds, hiding her pain, maybe she's a closet necrophiliac.
Three miles outside Xavier's place Squidboy chats about his first impressions of the school, until he realizes that Cain isn't listening. Changing the subject, he asks Juggernaut what it takes to be a villain. Squidboy thinks Juggernaut is one because he tried to kill Professor X and he is one as well, because he wanted to kill kids that teased him at school. His argument angers Juggernaut. He informs Squidboy that nobody considers himself a villain. Professor X made him a villain. All he wanted was revenge for his dad's death, which he blames Professor X for. He wanted to make Xavier pay for that death and now suddenly that makes him the villain? Angrily, Juggernaut tosses a stone, which hits an old house. Given Cain's strength, it causes quite a bit of damage.
Angrily he tells Sammy that he made him do that. Squidboy denies this and asks if he always blames others for his actions. Juggernaut is enraged and raises his hand to hit him, but pauses, when he sees the letterbox with the name "Marko" on the ground. This is where he used to live.
Somewhere over the Midwest Nightcrawler and Stacy X are in the Blackbird heading for the X Ranch while Archangel flies alongside. Stacy asks Nightcrawler if Warren's avoiding her. Nightcrawler says "no," he needs to stretch his wings, because most of the time they're folded up or crammed in. Stacy asks Nightcrawler if Archangel has a girlfriend because she thinks he's been acting weird since they almost kissed. Nightcrawler tells her that he used to love a former teammate - Betsy - very much, in spite of breaking up with her. Recently she was killed. Stacy didn't know that and Nightcrawler says she shouldn't because even amongst friends Archangel is a very private person. He's been through things most can't even imagine.
At his former home Juggernaut puts on his armor, tells Sammy to stay back and starts destroying his house while reliving the ghosts of his past. He remembers his father often being out late. Eventually his father tells him they are moving out of this house to live in a mansion. Cain will have the opportunity to make new friends from a better class of people. But what's wrong with his friends, young Cain protests. His father breaks a bottle, angrily blames it on Cain and starts whipping the boy with his belt. The adult Juggernaut goes into a berserker rage and demolishes the house.
At the remains of the X-Ranch Nightcrawler asks Stacy if she found anything worth keeping. She tells him just stuff that's special to her and looks at a picture, showing her, Fat Nancy, and Madame Drache. She remembers the close friendship with the other girls, the pillow fights. The ranch was a safe haven for them. Underneath it all, Stacy muses, they were just girls - "trailer trash living in a mansion". Stacy mentions that sometimes they used to sit around naked. Clearly uncomfortable, Nightcrawler changes the subject and asks what else she found. Just some personal stuff with no meaning Stacy claims and looks into her bags that contain a few security back-up videotapes among other things.
Westchester:
After Juggernaut has completely levelled his house, Squidboy tosses him a rootbeer and asks why he did that. He tells him it's what the house represents and admits he's been blaming others for mistakes just like his father blamed him for his. He wants to end that and start appreciating things now. Because of Xavier, Squidboy and Juggernaut who have no friends, future, or hope, are going to live in a mansion now.
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