Phoenix, Arizona: Four Years Ago
John is trying to raise money for the 7/15 disaster. She refuses and walks off, and a man asks her if he's raising money for Dallas. The man says that John attacked the country is asking for money, and John yells at him that he served two tours in Vietnam. Men in a truck drive up, and John hears them coming. They toss a bomb out the window, and John tosses it into a nearby alley and catches a flying shard of metal as a car explodes.
Now
John is looking at a photo of himself with a boy. Marcos comes in and says that there are rumors of mutants with SS hunting other mutants. John warns that if SS turns them against each other then they're done. The Federal building in Baton Rouge is a major mutant justice center, and Reed working with the judge there. Marcos suggests that they break in, and John agrees, saying that it's time to change their game.
Lauren and Andy go to their new beds before the rush from the new arrivals, and Lauren points out that they're the reason for the rush since SS is freaking out over them. Andy goes to get water, and a mutant Wes jokingly asks if there are more MREs. Lauren tries to rebuff him, and Wes creates an illusion that everyone has disappeared. Unimpressed, Lauren walks away.
Caitlin is checking on a patient, Skyler, who doesn't know why his blood pressure is high. She figures that he's overusing his powers, and tells him to get some food. Caitlin sees one girl manipulating water under Lorna's tutorage, and Lorna tells her that she's training. One the girl leaves, Caitlin comes over and asks what Lorna is training them for. Lorna says that she's training the young mutants for combat because they're being hunted.
John finds Clarice with Zingo and tells her that they need to get into the Federal building. She points out that Dreamer stuck a memory in her head without asking her permission, a memory of John. John apologizes and says that he asked Dreamer not to do it, and she did it to save the team. Clarice figures that John didn't tell her because he wanted to use her, and says that she has her own people to find. John offers to help, and Clarice says that she doesn't want to know. She asks if the way he looked at her earlier was real. John tells her that it's complicated, and Clarice says that she's going to make it less complicated and ports away.
That night, John tells the team that they're taking the fight to the enemy and it's a matter of survival. Reed tells them what he knows about the building, and how Judge Kresge dealt with most of his cases. Shatter complains that Reed didn't ask about the disappearing mutants, and John tells them that Clarice left so they can't port in. Andy says that he can get them through the concrete wall. Reed wants to talk to his son in private, but Andy points out that it's a matter of survival and it's time that Reed let him fight.
The next day, Reed and the others are packing supply. Clarice asks Reed if it's a good idea to take Andy, and he says that it's they're best shot and that they haven't been connecting since his escape. Meanwhile, Marcos tells John that John is needed there and they'll be okay. Clarice tells Andy to stay close to Reed, and he and Reed get in the semi with the others. She notices that Reed's wedding ring is gone, and he explains that they took it in prison. Clarice says that they haven't talked yet, and Reed promises that they will when he comes back.
Lauren is watching from the window and Wes comes over. He says that he's sure Reed and Andy will be fine, and asks Lauren if she wants to talk about it. She refuses and goes back to work.
At the SS building, Jace returns to work despite his leave of absence and tells Weeks that he's lost his daughter twice. When Weeks says that he isn't supposed to be there, Jace takes Weeks' security key card and dares him to call security. Weeks doesn't, and Jace goes into his office and looks at a photo of himself and his daughter. He then calls Dr. Campbell.
As the mutants drive to Baton Rouge, Marcos tells Reed and Andy to get some rest. Reed tries to chat with Andy, and says that he tried to help when Andy was being bullied. Andy says that the bullies came after him because Reed talked to the principal, and there was no time to talk to him. Reed suggests that they talk about it now, just as a police officer orders them over. He asks to see the cargo in the back, and the driver Thomas tries to put him off. In the back, Marcos absorbs the lights so they won't draw attention. Thomas opens up the back and the officer doesn't see the three people in the back. Before he can look further, the officer gets a dispatch call and heads off. Thomas closes the door and Marcos collapses from the strain.
At the HQ, Dreamer approaches John as he reinforces the place. She asks how his conversation went with Clarice, and he points out that she left. He blames himself for leaving Pulse, and wonders if the X-Men made a mistake choosing him to lead the Underground. Dreamer insists that John was chosen for a reason but John isn't so far.
Thomas pulls over at a campground for a break, and Reed asks Andy if it hurts when he uses his powers. He points out that it took a lot out of Marcos, and Andy says that it feels good when he rips stuff apart. Reed warns that what Andy can do will hurt someone. Andy tells him that he wants him to be proud of him, and they start arguing. Marcos overhears them and interrupts, and Andy walks off.
At the HQ, Caitlin is looking for some schoolbooks when Shatter comes in and finds a box with the books. She says that she wants to start a school for all of the refugee kids, and shatter explains that SS picks up kids when they come back from school.
Lorna is training Lauren and the others, and throws some metal shards at Skyler. He blocks them, and Wes uses his power to make the metal shards disappear. Lorna tells him that they're going to need to depend on each other to survive, and they'll have to work hard. When Lorna calls Lauren up, Caitlin objects and Lorna tells her to step ack. Caitlin says that she isn't going to have her daughter leave like that and tells Lauren to leave with her. After a moment, Lauren goes with her.
Once the truck heads out, Marcos tells Reed to keep talking to Andy about using his powers. He asks if Reed always wanted to be a father, and Reed admits that he did. Reed asks Marcos if he does since he's going to be a father, and Marcos says that he didn't know his father well before he kicked him out for being a mutant. Marcos says that he disappointed his father, and Reed admits that if they were like their fathers then he wouldn't be much of a dad himself. He says that he hasn't figured out parenting yet but can tell Marcos that nothing their children can do will make them love them less.
Roderick arrives at Jace's office with his aide and says that he used his influence to have Jace reinstated. He asks to see the file on the Strucker children, hinting that he can have the reinstatement canceled if Jace doesn't cooperate. Jace notices that Roderick's aide has a wolf tattoo on his wrist, and assures Roderick that giving him the file won't be a problem.
The truck arrives in Baton Rouge and Marcos calls Lorna to tell her that it's more well-protected than she thought. Lorna tells him to be careful, and assures him that her and the baby are doing fine. Once Lorna hangs up, Caitlin comes over and says that she wants normalcy for her children. Lorna warns that as mutants, this is their new normal, and walks off.
Wes invites Lauren to hang with him for a second, and she reluctantly sits with him. She says that Caitlin is still weird about her powers, and Wes asks her why she's been hiding. Lauren says she just wanted a normal life, but admits that hiding what she could do sucked. When she tells Wes that she hoped to move to Florence, Wes casts an illusion of Florence and Lauren points out that it's Rome. Still, she says that it's beautiful. Caitlin calls to Lauren, and Lauren walks out through the illusion.
Marcos and the others go to the parking garage next to the Federal building. Andy uses his powers on the adjoining wall and pulls the wall apart. When he starts to follow Marcos in, Reed tells him to stick to the plan and go back to the truck. Reed then follows Marcos, who burns through the door lock on the mutant files. Reed grabs the files, and Reed sees a photo on the wall of himself with Kresge. SS agents pull up outside, and Marcos finishes burning through the computer to get the hard drives with the rest of the info. Over Reed's objections, he then melts everything in the room to cover their tracks.
At the HQ, John tells Shatter and Sage that more refugees are heading their way sine another HQ got hit. Dreamer asks John if he's doing all right, and John tells her that Marcos and the others got the files without Clarice. He says that what they did to Clarice was wrong, but Dreamer insists that it saved life and if they had told her earlier, Clarice would have left earlier and people would have died. Dreamer tells him that it's okay that he got out and Pulse didn't, and he has to keep moving forward. She kisses him and after a moment, John tells her that they can't do it. Dreamer insists that all they have is what they have there and now.
As they kiss, Marcos calls and says that there is a police car calling them. He has John check the traffic notices, and John finds an alert. He calls in the others and says that the team is heading into an ambush, and Lorna figures that the officer who pulled them over earlier notified the authorities. Lauren suggests that Wes use his illusions, and says that she wants to go as well. Lorna looks at Caitlin, who tells Lauren to go before she changes her mind.
Lorna, Lauren, and Wes head for a stadium overlooking the highway. More police are setting up a barricade, and Lorna tells Marcos not to stop. Marcos tells Thomas to keep driving, and Lorna tells Lauren to focus and generate a shield so the truck can drive over the roadblock. Wes worries that he's never done anything that big, and Lorna tells him to dig deeper.
In the truck, Andy yells at Reed, saying that he can help. Reed tells his son that his power is not the answer to everything, and they have to be a team. Andy reluctantly agrees, and Weeks orders the truck to stop. When the truck doesn't stop, Weeks orders his men to open fire. Lorna deflects the bullets, Lauren generates a shield letting the truck drive over the ramp, and Wes creates an illusion that the truck has gone in two different directions. The police drive after both trucks, unaware that Wes has made the real truck disappear.
When Jace learns that the mutants escaped, he tells the agents that the mutants stole classified information and they're going to hunt them down. Roderick and his aide comes in, and Jace tells the agents to monitor all cell phones within 50 miles of the site. One tech points out that they don't have a court order, and Jace says that he doesn't give a damn about court orders.
Once Marcos and the others get back to the HQ, Caitlin and Reed kiss. Caitlin give Reed a ring that she found in the storage room, as a replacement for the wedding ring he lost. She puts it on his finger and they kiss, and Caitlin says that before they talk, Reed should talk to Andy. Reed goes over to his son and tells him that he's always been proud of him. He tells Andy that he can say whatever he's thinking, and after a moment Andy hands him a Monopoly piece and says that he's always the shoe. Reed agrees and they start playing.
John and Dreamer go through the files, and he looks over at Dreamer. She smiles at him and after a moment, John smiles back.
Clarice goes to an abandoned building.
Marcos lies next to a sleeping Lorna. Carmen calls and tells him that she's collecting on their agreement. If Marcos doesn't pay her back then her next call is to SS.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 7, 2017