Kilgore Industries Auction, where partygoers are mingling around after the auction's conclusion, including Andreas and Andrea Strucker, the Fenris Twins, who hold each other closely. Quentin Quire tells Benjamin Deeds a.k.a. Morph and Nathaniel Leeds a.k.a. Hindsight that the twins' powers are actually bio-engineered, because their daddy bought 'em for them, but he clearly didn't pay enough, because they only work when they're touching each other – skin to skin. 'Which, from the looks of it, they're okay with...' Quentin adds, before informing his teammates that this Andrea is a clone, as the original died years ago, and Andreas tanned her skin to wrap around his sword. 'So have fun unpacking that...' he remarks, glass of wine in hand. Benjamin asks Nathaniel, who is concentrating hard, whether if it is working, and he can see the security codes.
Nathaniel replies that he is not getting anything, and adds that his “skills” are only automatic when he touches something that is alive, everything else takes focus, which is kinda hard when he is surrounded by murderers. 'Yeah, well, none of that's gonna matter when you're dead' Quentin replies, rolling his eyes, before telepathically telling Benjamin that they are about to heist an auction run by Kade Kilgore, and while he is not worried about getting out alive, the two of them might want to watch their volume and mind their mugs. '#$%&. Sorry' Benjamin replies, as half of his appearance reverts to resembling Quentin, and then asking Quentin if he wants to walk them through the plan again. 'Haven't got much of a choice, have I? Since Nathaniel failed at life...' Quentin replies. 'Sit and spin, Quentin' Nathaniel mutters.
Quentin telepathically tells his teammates that he will separate the Fenris twins by implanting the idea that Andreas has gotta pee like a racehourse, then Benjamin will knock Andreas out – 'Which is more action than he's seen in months' – Quentin jokes, and explains that he will steal Andreas' clothes and face, rejoining Andrea and stroll his way to the nano-Sentinel, then morph his way out of their with the goods. 'Simple. Like you, Benji' Quentin concludes. 'Simple? How am I gonna handle an expert swordsman like Andreas -' Benjamin begins, as Quentin interrupts: 'When you're just a sad panda? Point taken. I'll handle it'.
'And what if my “impersonation” sucks?' Benjamin asks. 'Or his look's off by a freckle?' Nathaniel suggests. Quentin tells them that they won't be looking that closely, and that it is part of Benji's charm. “Charm?” Nathaniel asks. 'Whenever Benji gets a face lift, he farts out some chemical that makes people relax and lights flicker' Quentin explains. 'Farts?' Benjamin protests. 'That's why people like him. And why he smells so good' Quentin adds. 'That explains a few things...' Nathaniel remarks, staring at Benjamin. 'Like what?' Benjamin asks, looking back at Nathaniel. 'Oh, for the love of – quit stalling – get to distracting!' Quentin declares as he pushes Benjamin into the crowd, while Andreas can be seen leaving the main room. 'PS, don't forget to watch out for Kade's guards' Quentin tells Benjamin, who looks nervous as he walks past two of Kade Kilgore's guards.
Benjamin is in the men's room and leans against the sink, remembering that when he first joined the school, Cyclops warned him that his powers were “passive, at best” and then after he was punched in the face, Cyclops told him that when they come for his fellow mutants, he has to be ready, and that “You, Mr Deeds, are not”. Benjamin looks in the mirror and decides that after over a year of training and a dead Scott Summers later, he can still hear him saying “You, Mr Deeds, are not ready”.
Suddenly, there is a flushing, and a door to one of the stalls opens. Andreas goes wide-eyed as a voice calls out 'Hey, Andreas'. Andreas sees “Andrea” standing before him and asks her what she is doing in the men's bathroom, and in that hideous suit. 'I needed to... uh... talk to you. About some things...' “Andrea” replies.
Andreas goes over to his “sister” and puts a finger to her lips, telling her to shush, and that he understands. 'You – you do?' “Andrea” asks, pulling away. 'Father said your cloning would bring about... irregularities in your behavior' Andreas remarks, moving in closer to “Andrea” once again, who replies 'Actually. I'm not sure we're on the same page...' Andreas tells his sister that he thought he lost her. 'If it wasn't for father – Andrea, is that stubble on your face?' Andreas asks, pulling away. 'I – I think I forgot to moisturize' “Andrea” claims, to which Andreas tells her that she moisturizes regularly. 'Uh, I -' “Andrea” utters, when suddenly, a blast strikes Andreas and he falls to the ground.
Nathaniel appears, holding a strange weapon and as he stands over Andreas' unmoving body, remarks that the “stun” on this thing had way more of a kick on it than he was expecting. 'Where in the hell did that come from?' Benjamin asks, shifting back to his true form. Nathaniel reveals that Quentin telekinetically lifted it from that shady dominatrix lady, and adds that, apparently, everyone is packing something. They pick Andreas up and drag him across the room, as Benjamin thanks Nathaniel for saving his butt, adding that the second Andreas touched him, he realized Andreas knew he wasn't Andrea. Probably because it didn't feel all kinds of wrong' Nathaniel suggests and adds, just in case, Benjamin should probably not touch Andrea. 'Yeah. Or we're all dead' Benjamin realizes. Nathaniel tells Benjamin that he has guys like Quentin Quire wrapped around his finger, and that he can do this. 'Whatever voice you've got going inside your head, don't let it be the thing that beats you' Nathaniel tells his friend. They sit Andreas up on a toilet, and Nathaniel tells Benjamin 'Now that you believe in yourself, you take off his shirt and I'll get his pants'.
Disguised as Andreas, Benjamin re-enters the crowd, and passing Skein, Typhoid Mary and Exterminatrix, thinks to himself that Nathaniel is right, and it is nothing he hasn't heard before – he knows he is his own worst enemy. 'If I weren't, I would've friggen’ asked him out by now instead of -' Benjamin thinks, interrupted when Andrea calls out to him. 'Crap' Benjamin thinks, as Andrea tells him that he said he would be right back, but it felt like an eternity. Gus and Rigo the Zapta Brothers are standing nearby, and Benjamin hears Cyclops telling him that he isn't read again, while Andrea leans into “Andreas” and tells him that those brutish Zapta Brothers have been openly ogling her this entire time – not that she can blame them. Benjamin stares down at Andrea, Cyclops' voice repeating over and over in his mind, before he thinks to himself 'You know what? Screw you, Scott Summers', then grins at Andrea: 'Neither can I. Let's rub it in their faces and pick up our new toy' he suggests, holding out his arm for her to take it. Quentin telepathically asks Benji how it is going, and with a large, fake smile plastered across his face, Benjamin replies 'I might've thrown up a bit in my mouth...' 'Attaboy!' Quentin exclaims.
Quentin stands near a table of food as Nathaniel approaches him. Quentin tells Nathaniel that it is about time he showed up, as the eagle has landed, everything is good, even this shrimp, surprisingly. 'So. You and Ben. There's really nothing going on between you two?' Nathaniel asks. 'Hold up – is that why you read my mind this morning?' Quentin grins, flicking the rest of the shrimp he was eating back onto the table. 'Smooth move, Carver' Quentin grins, leaning into Nathaniel, who tells him to forget it. 'Chill, Nathaniel. You know everything there is to know about me and Benji. He's way too fragile. I'd destroy him' Quentin grins. Nathaniel scowls at him, when suddenly, Kade Kilgore appears, with two guards at his side, he exclaims that he had a feeling something wasn't right about Quentin's “boyfriend”, and asks 'He's Benjamin Deeds, right? The X-student who morphs?'
'Which means you’re back in their ranks' Kade declares. '#$%&! Benji -' Quentin calls out telepathically. 'Quentin -' Nathaniel begins, before Quentin cries out in pain and clutches his head as Kade asks 'How do you like my psychic dampener?' which buzzes through Quentin's mind. Kade explains that it is a like a shock collar for telepaths and is handy when you've got one trying to run off with a customer's goods.
Elsewhere, Benjamin, still disguised as Andreas, walks with Andrea hanging on his arm. His thoughts reach out to Quentin, informing him that Andrea has the cannister, but he is going to need some help actually taking it from her – however he gets no response from Quentin. 'Andreas. Are you listening to me?' Andrea exclaims. 'Huh? Of course! Uh...you were saying?' “Andreas” replies, while Mandrill walks past them. 'Our birthday. How would you like to celebrate?' Andrea asks. 'Oh, uh...drinking? Dancing? Murdering mutants? It's up to you...' “Andreas” responds. 'That's going to be difficult...since our birthday was last week!' Andrea snaps, leaning into “Andreas” who goes wide-eyed.
'Nice job connecting the dots, Baby Einstein. I'm guessing this means that “last minute” lot of nano-Sentinels you auctioned off was bait?' Quentin asks Kade. Nathaniel helps Quentin to his feet as Kade remarks that he thought they would figure it out sooner, but he guesses all it takkes to fool Quentin is an internet image search of nano-Sentinels and a scary looking thermos full of saline. 'Which of course means your friend Ben's probably going to die – for nothing' Kade grins.
'Come on Ben...' Benjamin thinks to himself, while Andrea tells him that her may look and sound like Andreas, but that he hardly fills out his suit, and he definitely lacks Andreas' musk. 'They're coming for your fellow mutants' Ben hears the voice in his head. 'If anything, you smell like – a cheap imitation' Andrea points out. Benjamin looks at the thermos Andrea is carrying, before Andrea grabs him by his collar and pulls him into her, 'Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?' she demands. 'So do something about it!' Benjamin hears, before he suddenly changes his appearance to that of Madrill's, frightening Andrea, who screams and pushes him away – but not before Benjamin grabs the thermos from her, and leaps into the crowd as the lights suddenly turn off. 'Hey!' Andrea calls out.
The lights turn back on, 'Come back here, you thieving ape!' Andrea shouts as she punches the Black Tarantula who was standing near here. 'Aren't mandrills monkeys?' Paladin asks Tombstone, who replies 'Mandrill? Where?' as Benjamin tells himself to switch it up, and he takes the form of Tombstone as Andrea asks the Black Tarantula 'Could you be any more in the way?' to which he responds 'How 'bout you say that to my face, you entitled witch'. Benjamin still looks like Tombstone as he runs past the Zapta brothers and tells them that Spider-Face back there is about to throw down with Andrea Strucker. 'Whuuuut? Dude can't be hitting no ladies!' one of the brothers replies. 'Bruh. Don't be sexist – you gotta keep it equal opportunity' the other brother replies. 'Dude. That's not what that means' the first brother tells him.
'Look, you little brat, if you're gonna try to kill us, let's get this over with' Quentin tells Kade, who asks 'Kill you? Why would I do that?' and reminds Quentin that he is the one who broke him out of mutant jail. 'Then what in the hell was the point of all this?' Quentin asks. Kade looks sheepish as he explains that he wanted to know if Quentin was back with the X-Men, and smiles as he points out that things are always much more difficult for the X-Men when Quentin is around. 'You're basically the human equivalent of a nano-Sentinel – you'll eventually destroy the X-Men from the inside out' Kade declares. Quentin hangs his head and Nathaniel looks at him, when suddenly, there is a loud BOOOM and everyone looks around. 'There goes the room...' Nathaniel remarks.
At that moment, Crossfire and Exterminatrix open fire at each other, while Mandrill shoves Hammerhead up against a wall, Skein and Typhoid Mary fight each other as the Brothers Zapta also fight. 'Why you always gotta be criticizing everything I say, bruh?' one of them asks. 'Because your face and mouth's always embarrassing me!' the other responds. Kade's guards want to lead him out to safety, 'Ugh. Every single time...take me to my car' Kade mumbles in response, while Nathaniel watches the criminals battle each other. 'Typical' Quentin mutters as Kade is led away. Suddenly, a piece of food is thrown at Nathaniel's face. 'Benjamin?!' Nathaniel asks as he looks over and sees Benjamin, back in his true form, standing behind a large potted plant. 'Holy *&#%, Benji. Did you do this?' Quentin asks as he and Nathaniel rush over to Benjamin, who holds the thermos and points out that he didn't have a choice, and adds that this was a bigger pain in the ass to get than expected. 'Sorry about the crostini, Nathaniel' he adds. 'It's fine. I'm sure it was the softest, least moist thing you could find at the time' Nathaniel replies. 'And Ben, about that canister -' Nathaniel begins, before Quentin deflects some shrapnel that is fired towards them and suggests they save their compliments for the master thief for later and focus on getting out of here in as few pieces as possible.
'Kade's totally the type of person who'd build secret escape passages into his buildings, right?' Ben asks. 'He would be that cliché' Quentin replies, to which Benjamin suggests that Nathaniel just has to touch the wall and find it, but Nathaniel reminds him that he tried that and it didn't work. 'Yeah, we,, take a piece of your own advice – just listen to my voice and relax. You can do this' Ben tells Nathaniel, who puts a hand to one of the walls. Nathaniel concentrates hard, and then announces that he sees it, across the room, a built-in secret passage. 'Like I said, cliché' Quentin mumbles. The three young mutants race across the room, running past Skein who gets slammed in the face by Typhoid Mary's fist. 'The table with a marble bust on it – the wall next to it opens up!' Nathaniel reveals. 'Isn't that a bust of Kade's dad?' Benjamin asks as they reach the table. 'You'd know better than me – all I know is we've gotta shove a finger in his eye' Nathaniel replies. 'Okay, now that's a level of specificity I can appreciate' Quentin remarks, before telling Nathaniel to hit it like he means it. Nathaniel pushes his finger into the statue's eye, and the door opens. 'Nice job saving us' Benjamin smiles at Nathaniel, who replies 'Yeah, well, couldn't have done it without you' to which Benjamin grins.
Meanwhile, at the Xavier Institute, Jubilee and Chamber sit side-by-side on a sofa, with Jubilee's baby, Shogo, resting on Chamber's leg as Jubilee tells him that this has been the best night since...well, she doesn't think she has been otside past seven PM in months. She adds that taking down those muggers tonight was the closest she has felt to being herself in forever. 'How so?' Chamber asks her. Jubilee explains that when you are a vampire, there is this low-key constant hunger that is so hard to ignore sometimes, but at one point tonight, she forgot, and the craving that she was a vampire, it was like she was back to being her old, normal self. Jubilee frowns as she adds that it is kinda weird suddenly thinking of mutant her as “normal”. Chamber pulls a blanket up over Shogo and reminds Jubilee that they spent years angsting over the thought that they were monsters. 'Realizing you aren't takes time to adjust' Jono adds. Jubilee leans into Jono and tells him 'Who knew that all this wisdom that comes with old age would look so good on you?' to which Jono replies 'Says the only “adult” here with a child'.
Jubilee puts her head on Jono's shoulder and thanks him. 'For?' Chamber asks. I dunno... existing? For being the onl- OW!' Jubilee exclaims, sitting back up. Chamber asks her if she is all right, and Jubilee clutches her face, explaining that she just bit her tongue really hard. 'Stupid vamp teeth. They're the worst' Jubilee mutters. Shogo wakes up and Jubilee asks Jono if he can watch Shogo as she wants to check her tongue. She walks across the room, and Jono tells her to do what she has to do. He looks down at Shogo, who looks back up at him. 'Doot doot doot' Shogo gurgles, tugging on Chamber's jacket. 'I know. I know' he mutters, admitting that if he doesn't pull himself together, it is going to be a bloody disaster.
In another part of the Institute, Quentin, Nathaniel and Benjamin have returned, and peering around a corner, Benjamin tells the others that it is all clear. 'Oh, now you're tired?' Nathaniel asks Quentin, who is yawning and points out that it has been at least half an hour since anyone shot at them. Nathaniel heads off in the direction of his room, while Quentin and Benjamin walk towards the room they share. 'See you guys tomorrow' Nathaniel calls out. Yeah. Probably' Benjamin replies, waving. 'Not by choice' Quentin tells him. 'By the way, Ben – you owe me a movie' Nathaniel grins. Benjamin smiles back sheepishly and tells Nathaniel that he will make sure it is extra indie and extra pretentious. 'Looking forward to hating it' Nathaniel replies. '...seriously?' Quentin asks, looking at the Benjamin out of the corner of his eye.
'What?' Benjamin asks. 'For #$%&'s sake – dude's a total #$%&, but obviously you're into that so – go do something about it' Quentin exclaims. Benjamin frowns, before running down the corridor after Nathaniel, 'Hey, Nathaniel – hold up!' Benjamin calls out, reaching out to grab Nathaniel's hand, Nathaniel pulls away, but spins around: 'Sorry. Reflex' Nathaniel replies, holding his hands back, Benjamin looks at him, before Nathaniel smiles and asks 'What's up?' Benjamin looks nervous, and hears Cyclops' voice in his head again, telling him that he is not ready.
Benjamin returns to his room, where Quentin is getting ready for bed. Benjamin quietly closes the door behind him, and Quentin remarks 'That was either the definition of a “quickie” or you chickened out'. Benjamin ignores him and flops down on his own bed. Quentin smirks and tells Benjamin that that is the fundamental difference between them. 'I always go after what I want – and you won't' Quentin declares, while Benjamin is curled up on his bed looking sad.
