Gene Nation members Marrow and Hemmingway torture and humiliate Emma, who is powerless to stop them due to Leech dampening Emma’s powers. She is tied up and has some red pain in her face.
Skin, Jubilee, Synch and Artie try to find Emma, and Synch uses his aura to home in on the mutant signatures, which gives them a direct route to where Emma is being held.
Back at the School, Husk is throwing up and Chamber is helping her get over her drunken state. He takes her back to her room and she makes a pass at him.
Emma is trying to figure out what makes Marrow tick, by asking her why she slaughtered all the humans in the disco and why she turned out so twisted. Marrow tells her, that Gene Nation’s ancestors, the Morlocks, lived in muck and dirt like animals, and she and her generation would not live like that. Watching from above, the kids are powerless due to Leech, who is afecting their abilities. Marrow continues, telling Emma how Leech is the last of her ancestors, and how she views him as an embarrasment. Her generation will do better, will be stronger. Emma waits for the perfect moment when Leech is in place and kicks him hard into the wall, knocking him out and cancelling his power. With her psi abilities back, Emma psionically ‘fries’ Marrow and Hemmingway’s brains, but notices that they are shielded from her full powers due to their cerebral make-up. Emma is about to kill them when the kids pop down from their look out and give her a taste of their conscience.
Observing all from a secret laboratory, Dark Beast aka The First One, realises that Marrow has meddled with his plans too much and blows up the chamber they are all in. He feels remorse for having to involve Emma though, and hints that the two share a past.
Skin saves Emma from the full blast, and Jubilee races to save Leech, who is still unconcious. A wall begins to collapse on her, but she is saved by M, who had apparantly snapped out of her ‘moment’ in Rockerfeller Centre. Later as the group leave the sewers, M is gloating that she saved Jubilee’s life, while Jubilee is more concerned about M spacing out again. Emma telepathically tries to contact the X-Men, but Leech dampens her. He asks Emma not to kick him again, while Emma searches for a phone.
Later still, the kids and Emma are recovering at the Xavier institute in Westchester. Emma and Charles Xavier are discussing the threat and intentions of Gene Nation, and Emma tells him she feels there is somebody behind their actions. Charles tells her that Bishop and Psylocke have scoured the tunnels, but found nothing. M, Synch and Skin (reluctantly), get to know Leech and Artie and tell them about the Massachusetts Academy where they are being transferred to. Jubilee heads out to the woods to find Wolverine, whom she has not seen since he started to turn feral after the loss of his Adamantium. Jubilee tells him she’ll stay and take care of him, but he tells her to go back to School, and make him proud. After a sad goodbye, the two part.
Back at the School, Banshee is still trying to communicate with Penance when Gateway appears and covers his ears. Before Banshee can ask whats going on, the girls dormatry suddenly explodes with an unmistakable power signature - Chamber’s.
